Latest news with #McLarenElva
Scottish Sun
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Rare McLaren with exposed cockpit, carbon-fibre bucket seats & 600 miles on clock could be yours for eye-watering price
There were only 149 of the super-rare motors ever made ON THE MOVE Rare McLaren with exposed cockpit, carbon-fibre bucket seats & 600 miles on clock could be yours for eye-watering price A STUNNING 2021 McLaren Elva could be yours at auction for £755,000. This particular model is the 45th of just 149 built, making it an ultra-rare opportunity to own a piece of British automotive history. Advertisement 6 Only around 19 of the 149 Elva's were built with windshields Credit: mediadrumimages 6 Most Elvas have no windshield Credit: mediadrumimages First sold in June 2021, this Elva returned to the original dealer in 2022 and has since clocked just 681 miles. Images show carbon-fibre bodywork sitting atop super-lightweight forged alloy wheels in gloss black diamond cut. The ultra-rare motor features an exposed cockpit, carbon-fibre bucket seats clad in black and white leather, red piping, and red stitching and complete with Elva-embroidered headrests. Interior surfaces feature pure white paintwork alongside carbon-fibre trim across the sills, dash, and floors. Advertisement Body-colour detailing extends to the upper dash, doors, centre console and rear bulkhead. Riding on 19-inch front and 20-inch rear Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres, braking is handled by 390mm carbon-ceramic rotors paired with forged monobloc calipers – six-piston at the front and four-piston at the rear – with stopping assistance from the active rear spoiler. Additional highlights include a deployable rollover system, front suspension lift, a McLaren sound system, touchscreen infotainment, air conditioning, parking sensors, and a rear view camera. The steering wheel, finished in black leather with a white 12 o'clock marker, frames a digital instrument display showing just 681 miles. Advertisement It features a carbon-fibre MonoCell II monocoque chassis wrapped in aerodynamic carbon-fibre body panels and low-profile dihedral doors. It has a ferocious 4.0-litre DOHC V8 engine with twin-scroll turbochargers and dry-sump lubrication, paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The motor produces a staggering 804 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque which propel the powerful car from 0-60mph in under 3 seconds. Designed for both speed and agility, the vehicle boasts McLaren's ProActive Chassis Control II, electro-hydraulic steering, and an Active Air Management System that channels airflow over the cockpit in lieu of a traditional windscreen. Advertisement Inside rare SLR McLaren Stirling Moss that's been driven less than 100 miles in 13 years and is set to sell for $4.3m Now offered in Bellevue, Washington, this McLaren Elva includes a manufacturer's certificate of origin, clean Carfax report, and original window sticker. The auction presents a rare chance to own a breathtakingly exclusive machine from McLaren's Ultimate Series. The car is on the auction block with Bring A Trailer with a description reading: 'The 4.0-litre M840TR V8 is a variant of the powerplant introduced in the 720S and features a flat-plane crankshaft, dry-sump lubrication, and dual twin-scroll turbochargers. 6 The stunning car boasts impressive power Credit: mediadrumimages Advertisement 6 The Elva has a stylish interior Credit: mediadrumimages 'Output was factory rated at 804 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 590 lb-ft of torque at 5,500 rpm, which is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch SSG transmission. 'The double-wishbone suspension incorporates active dampening and roll control via the ProActive Chassis Control II System, which offers comfort, sport, and track modes. 'Variable Drift Control, Brake Steer, launch control, and variable-rate electro-hydraulic steering are also standard on the Elva model. Advertisement 'A plaque affixed to the door jamb lists the car as number 45 of 149. 'The window sticker lists delivery to McLaren Seattle as well as optional equipment and a total suggested retail price of $1,759,874. 'This car does not have a title as it has never been titled or registered. "It is being offered with its Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin, and the selling dealer will assist the buyer with registration and titling.' Advertisement 6 The Elva up for auction is one of just 149 ever built Credit: mediadrumimages
The Irish Sun
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Rare McLaren with exposed cockpit, carbon-fibre bucket seats & 600 miles on clock could be yours for eye-watering price
A STUNNING 2021 McLaren Elva could be yours at auction for £755,000. This particular model is the 45th of just 149 built, making it an ultra-rare opportunity to own a piece of British automotive history. 6 Only around 19 of the 149 Elva's were built with windshields Credit: mediadrumimages 6 Most Elvas have no windshield Credit: mediadrumimages First sold in June 2021, this Elva returned to the original dealer in 2022 and has since clocked just 681 miles. Images show carbon-fibre bodywork sitting atop super-lightweight forged The ultra-rare motor features an exposed cockpit, carbon-fibre bucket seats clad in black and white leather, red piping, and red stitching and complete with Elva-embroidered headrests. Interior surfaces feature pure white paintwork alongside Read more in Motors Body-colour detailing extends to the upper dash, doors, centre console and rear bulkhead. Riding on 19-inch front and 20-inch rear Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres, braking is handled by 390mm carbon-ceramic rotors paired with forged monobloc calipers – six-piston at the front and four-piston at the rear – with stopping assistance from the active Additional highlights include a deployable rollover system, front suspension lift, a McLaren sound system, touchscreen infotainment, air conditioning, parking sensors, and a rear view camera. The steering wheel, finished in black leather with a white 12 o'clock marker, frames a digital instrument display showing just 681 miles. Most read in Motors It features a carbon-fibre MonoCell II monocoque chassis wrapped in aerodynamic carbon-fibre body panels and low-profile dihedral doors. It has a ferocious 4.0-litre DOHC The motor produces a staggering 804 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque which propel the powerful car from 0-60mph in under 3 seconds. Designed for both speed and agility, the vehicle boasts McLaren's ProActive Chassis Control II, electro-hydraulic steering, and an Active Air Management System that channels airflow over the cockpit in lieu of a traditional windscreen. Inside rare SLR McLaren Stirling Moss that's been driven less than 100 miles in 13 years and is set to sell for $4.3m Now offered in Bellevue, Washington, this The auction presents a rare chance to own a breathtakingly exclusive machine from McLaren's Ultimate Series. The car is on the auction block with Bring A Trailer with a description reading: 'The 4.0-litre M840TR V8 is a variant of the powerplant introduced in the 720S and features a flat-plane crankshaft, dry-sump lubrication, and dual twin-scroll 6 The stunning car boasts impressive power Credit: mediadrumimages 6 The Elva has a stylish interior Credit: mediadrumimages 'Output was factory rated at 804 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 590 lb-ft of torque at 5,500 rpm, which is sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch SSG 'The double-wishbone suspension incorporates active dampening and roll control via the ProActive Chassis Control II System, which offers comfort, sport, and track modes. 'Variable Drift Control, Brake Steer, launch control, and variable-rate electro-hydraulic steering are also standard on the Elva model. 'A plaque affixed to the door jamb lists the car as number 45 of 149. 'The window sticker lists delivery to 'This car does not have a title as it has never been titled or registered. "It is being offered with its Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin, and the selling dealer will assist the buyer with registration and titling.' 6 The Elva up for auction is one of just 149 ever built Credit: mediadrumimages 6 The motor can go from 0-60mph of under 3 seconds Credit: mediadrumimages
The National
29-04-2025
- Science
- The National
How lightness became the ultimate status symbol
Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Toronto, aided by artificial intelligence, developed the lightest and strongest nano-material yet – a carbon nano-lattice so featherweight it can rest on a soap bubble without bursting it – yet strong enough to support more than a million times its own mass. As in science, so in luxury. The past year has seen a flurry of 'world's lightest' high-end launches: Lenovo's sub-1kg AI laptop; Scott's 5.9kg road bike; Helly Hansen's Odin Everdown jacket; and On's Cloudboom Strike running shoes, with uppers literally sprayed to measure using thermoplastics. To underscore the point, in 2024 Samsonite sent its lightest suitcase to date – the two-kilogram Proxis – into low gravity space. In the preceding years, we've seen the arrival of the world's lightest road car (the McLaren Elva) and the world's lightest chair – Oskar Zieta's 1.7kg Ultraleggera. But why the collective sprint towards weightlessness, when for so long luxury was – consciously or not – associated with heft? If the value of a timepiece was once measured in part by the bicep it helped build, why are watches by Richard Mille, or new carbon and glass fibre composite designs from IWC, Hermès, Tudor and Tag Heuer, now celebrated for their barely-there weight? A scene from Jurassic Park captures the logic perfectly. When a boy discovers a pair of night-vision goggles under a car seat, a lawyer asks, 'Are they heavy?' The boy replies yes. 'Then they're expensive,' the lawyer says. 'Put them back.' Indeed, classic psychological studies show just how deeply we associate weight with value. One found that if you reduce a container's weight by 15%, consumers notice no difference; reduce it by 30%, and they're unwilling to pay full price. Our perceived value of an object often correlates with its expected weight – and when that expectation is disrupted, our internal pricing system collapses. Yet according to Nick Tidball, co-founder of Vollebak – a brand known for its use of high-tech, ultralight materials such as graphene and aerogel – the appetite for lightness is the natural result of a more mobile, fast-moving society. 'It's helped us realise that lightness is a good thing,' he says. 'It doesn't mean a lack of durability, for example. It can be applied to other nice things in our lives, like clothing. A coat doesn't have to be thick and heavy to be warm or waterproof. Luxury generally is becoming lighter – look at architecture, or even cooking. Michelin-starred food used to mean big chunks of meat in rich sauces. Now there's a lightness of touch.' It's a shift echoed in materials preferences, too. While Aston Martin still offers wood fascias for its cars, more than 90 per cent of customers now choose carbon fibre instead – partly for aesthetics, partly because it signals modernity, says chief creative officer Marek Reichman. 'Customers are increasingly getting the message about these once-rare materials,' he says. 'They see them in aviation, in Formula One, and now maybe in their skis, their pen or watch. They're part of their everyday changing world. It's performance as luxury.' Still, old habits persist. Though manufacturers are gradually replacing iron ore–based materials with lighter, stronger alternatives – magnesium, titanium, polymers and ceramic composites – many consumers remain attached to traditional notions of luxury. Case in point – most Aston Martin buyers still opt for leather upholstery over lighter weight Alcantara. 'They decide they can live with the few extra kilograms for the perceived luxury and sensory appeal of leather,' says Reichman. So does the shift towards lightness signal the end of the traditionally heavyweight? Does the sturdy, bench-made brogue have a future in a world where, as shoemakers Giuseppe Santoni demonstrated last year, proper dress shoes can weigh only 295 grams? Tidball doesn't think the two are mutually exclusive. He recently purchased a Ligne Roset modular sofa, he says, precisely because it was lightweight and mobile – 'even if it cost as much as a Chesterfield'. But he believes there's space for both – 'a super lightweight trainer next to those brogues, to be worn depending on the occasion'. Benoit Mintiens, the product designer behind train carriages, pushchairs and the Ressence watch brand, speaks from experience when he concedes that, after generations of heavyweight materials the likes of marble and oak being conflated with ideas of lasting quality that association is not an easy one for many consumers to shake. It's why super-yacht designers have had to find ways to create millimetre thick sheets of marble for their clients' preferred interior designs. He recently launched Ressence's Type 7, a super light model with a full titanium dial and bracelet, and has already grown used to 'people coming up to me and asking if there's anything in it,' he laughs. 'It's a deeply human question. But if the watch was heavy, like a Rolex, that's a question that wouldn't occur to them'. Still, he argues, lightness must prevail – because the real driver isn't aesthetics, but sustainability. Using less material, he notes, means more efficient production and less energy required to transport goods. 'We're all getting more sensitive to ecological pressures,' Mintiens says. 'And weight, by definition, means more material – and more material means more resources. Logically, we'd make any product lighter, providing it doesn't hamper its function. Why do we still make heavier things? Not because they're more luxurious or higher quality, but because it's easier. Weight is a cheap way to suggest quality. It means not having to think of design solutions that give the same strength with less material. The reassurance of weight, the idea that there's some sense of honesty in it – that's an old way of thinking. And it's one we need to lose.'
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Chinese Billionaire Cranes Rolls-Royce Ghost to 44th-Floor Penthouse
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector In an extraordinary display of wealth and ingenuity, a billionaire in China's Fujian province orchestrated a jaw-dropping operation to elevate his Rolls-Royce Ghost to his 44th-floor penthouse. The luxury vehicle, encased in a protective iron cage, was lifted high above the city by a crane, drawing widespread attention. The Rolls-Royce Ghost, a masterpiece of engineering with a starting price of $350,000, weighs approximately 2.7 tons. Transporting it to such an unusual location required meticulous planning. The car was secured inside a custom-built iron cage to shield it from potential damage during its ascent. Once lifted, it was gently placed onto the penthouse terrace, where a team of workers ensured its safe positioning. The motivation behind this extravagant endeavor was the owner's desire to use the car as a centerpiece in his penthouse. While many people showcase art or sculptures, this billionaire chose to spotlight his prized luxury vehicle, turning it into a unique ornamental display. This feat is not the first of its kind. Similar operations have been undertaken by other affluent car enthusiasts. Australian Adrian Portelli famously lifted a McLaren Senna GTR to his 57th-floor penthouse, while a McLaren Elva found its way to the 48th floor of a luxury tower in Seattle. Although the Rolls-Royce Ghost will no longer grace the roads, it now enjoys a commanding view of the cityscape from its new perch. For its owner, the vehicle's presence on the terrace is a symbol of luxury, blending art, design, and engineering in a breathtaking spectacle. This unusual display serves as a reminder of how the ultra-rich redefine extravagance, transforming even practical objects like cars into opulent symbols of status and personal expression. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
