The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. Email address Sign Up Thank you! Terms of Service & Privacy Policy. It’s been a minute since we had a fun supercar salvage auction to ogle, hasn’t it? And we’re back with a bang: there’s a 1-of-149 $2M McLaren Elva that’s seen better days for sale on Copart right now , with less than 24 hours left to snag it. Runs and drives, great color, no windshield as Bruce McLaren intended… I don’t know about you, but it’s almost too tempting to take out a second mortgage on my house. Updated 2/25 @ 6:58 pm ET: According to a tipster, the Elva used to belong to former Luminar CEO Austin Russell, who was ousted from the lidar company he founded last May. It’s not known at this ...
The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter directly to you, every weekday. Email address Sign Up Thank you! Terms of Service & Privacy Policy.
It’s been a minute since we had a fun supercar salvage auction to ogle, hasn’t it? And we’re back with a bang: there’s a 1-of-149 $2M McLaren Elva that’s seen better days for sale on Copart right now , with less than 24 hours left to snag it. Runs and drives, great color, no windshield as Bruce McLaren intended… I don’t know about you, but it’s almost too tempting to take out a second mortgage on my house.
Updated 2/25 @ 6:58 pm ET: According to a tipster, the Elva used to belong to former Luminar CEO Austin Russell, who was ousted from the lidar company he founded last May. It’s not known at this time whether Russell still owned the car at the time of the crash, or if he was behind the wheel, but the plot thickens.
The damage doesn’t even seem that bad, with one hefty caveat. The Elva looks like it ran headlong into and submarined under something taller—hopefully not the back end of a truck, which would’ve been terrifying for the driver—as evidenced by the crunched front end and long scrapes running up along the front fenders. From the large gap between the front tires and the wheel well, it also appears the hydraulic front axle lift might be jammed up.
Copart Your biggest problem will be that the McLaren’s Active Air Management System , which is supposed to funnel air up through the opening in the nose and arc it over the cockpit, negating the need for a windshield, is totally toast. But that’s what goggles are for, right? Go for a full restoration, or get the suspension sorted and enjoy the patina as is, or drop an LS in there and swap its V8 into whatever your heart desires.
When it launched in 2020, the Elva was the fifth installment in McLaren’s Ultimate Series line, following the F1, P1, Senna, and Speedtail. The F1 will forever be on a pedestal, and I’m personally a huge Speedtail fan, but you could argue the Elva was the most radical car McLaren built in modern times. Powered by a twin-turbo V8 sending 804 horsepower to the rear wheels, gifted with hydraulic steering and surprisingly plush active suspension, weighing just under 2,800 pounds, and rocketing from 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds, it’s simultaneously an incredible piece of engineering and a total rejection of what modern supercars are supposed to be.
Copart McLaren wasn’t alone in making a no-windshield supercar for rich guys to sometimes drive but mostly stick in their massive garages in recent years. The Elva was joined by the Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 and the Aston Martin V12 Speedster , and while any of them would do for our purposes, you can bet this’ll be the cheapest way to join that club. At least until the next incident, whenever that is.
I haven’t found any records or documentation of the crash that sent this Elva to a Copart yard. It’s got a Montana title, of course, but if you know more about how it ended up looking for a new entrepreneurial owner, get in touch: [email protected]
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