IndyCar Star JR Hildebrand Meets the McLaren Elva: ‘It’s the ultimate driver’s car’
IndyCar driver JR Hildebrand demonstrates the thrill and exhilaration of driving the newest McLaren Ultimate series vehicle – the McLaren Elva.
Designed for pure driving connection, engagement and enjoyment, the Elva is the lightest and most driver focused vehicle in the McLaren model line-up. Powered by an 804bhp twin-turbo V8 engine, the Elva is capable of ferocious acceleration and handling that is both exploitable and accessible – points on which JR is in full agreement…
’’The Elva is the newest car in the growing stable of McLaren Ultimate Series machines, with not only hyper-car performance but a hyper-specific use case. Where the McLaren Senna and McLaren Senna GTR exist to be the ultimate in track weapons, the Elva is designed for the ultimate immersive experience on your favorite roads, and to be completely unhidden from your environment – whether that be a coastal sea breeze or the paparazzi flash pulling up on Rodeo Drive.
This car isn’t for everyone, nor is it for every situation. If it was built for maximum comfort and usability it would have windows, a convertible roof, and a few more places to put your things. But it’s not and it doesn’t pretend to be. This car is for owning the fact that you, yes *you*, are driving a McLaren Elva, and for freeing yourself from whatever else you have going on to tap into the moment at hand by going for a drive.
It’s impossibly nimble and lightweight, blurring the boundaries between the car and all of its environment. Get this thing in a tunnel, wick it up to 9000rpm, pile on the brakes and bang that downshift – just the snap, crackle and pop that this thing gives you.
It provides the purest sensation of connection to the road, it excites all your senses from smell, to taste, to the feeling through the steering wheel. It’s the most incredible machine for the A to A journey, just getting out and driving like nothing else matters.
You want to know what it’s like to drive the McLaren Elva? It’s the ultimate driver’s car.’’