Nobody wants to own this hysterical McLaren Elva! You maybe?

You see, that’s why the Dutch always order their new cars in black or grey! Because a conspicuous color is sensitive to taste and makes it difficult to sell used items. Just look at this hysterical McLaren Elva that nobody wants.

It will go under the hammer at Mecum Auctions in the United States in mid-May. The auction house does not name an expected return, because the last time the McLaren Elva was offered for sale – in August 2022 – it did not even reach its reserve price.

McLaren Elva remained unsold last year

Last year, Mecum had an expected price of $2.6-2.7 million, which translates to about €2.3-2.4. Nobody wanted that for the colorful Elva, so the open British sports car remained unsold.

Rainbow color as you often see on TVRs

The McLaren’s first owner ordered it in a rainbow colorway often seen on TVRs in the 1990s. The color changes color when you look at it from a different angle. This Elva is red, purple, yellow, orange and blue. All at the same time.

Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren

By the way, it seems like automakers are constantly copying each other. Because Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren developed a super sports car without a windshield and roof almost at the same time.

The Aston Martin V12 Speedster, Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2, Lamborghini SC20 and McLaren Elva are as impractical as anything else, but that doesn’t seem to deter wealthy collectors.

The McLaren sold extremely poorly

At least not at Ferrari. Because Aston Martin and McLaren had great difficulties selling their “Barchettas”. McLaren would initially build 399 Elvas, but when it became apparent that they couldn’t get lost on the cobblestones, that became 249 and then down to 149.

Homage to Bruce McLaren’s Group 7 racing cars

This example has the number 122 of 149 and only has 90 delivery miles on the clock (144 kilometers). Its 815 hp and 800 Nm 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 therefore had no chance of accelerating to 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds.

The Elva is an ode to McLaren founder Bruce McLaren’s M1A, M1B and M1C Group 7 open-top racers. It has a clever bit of air pipe on the nose to ensure the wind isn’t constantly blowing and throwing wasps at your target.

If we’d rather wear a helmet in the Elva, especially if you want to test the top speed of 326 km/h. And as a motorcyclist, we can tell you that you can hardly see anything afterwards because of all the carcasses of flies on your visor.