Pretend you’re Bruce McLaren with this $2.8 million TradeMe find

If you’ve ever fancied owning one of the most sought-after supercars of the modern era, now is your chance, with this highly limited McLaren Elva recently popping up for sale on TradeMe.

Listed by McLaren Auckland, the dealership is looking to fetch a cool $2.8 million for the supercar of which just 149 were ever made. For that price, you’d at least expect it to have a roof, let alone a windscreen, but we should note that this is no ordinary vehicle.

McLaren developed the Elva to pay homage to the Can-Am racers of the 1960s, those of which were driven by the company’s founder and Kiwi, Bruce McLaren, as well as fellow countryman Denny Hulme.

This particular car is a throwback to the M8B, with its MSO Bespoke Satin Papaya Spark paint making it stand out like a sore thumb. You’ll also find Bruce’s name on each door next to an original ‘McLaren Cars’ inscription, as well as the brand’s original Kiwi logo.

Shoehorned into the middle of the Elva is a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 that makes 599kW and 800Nm of torque, quite possibly making this car the world’s ultimate hairdryer.

With that, a sprint from 0 to 100km/h takes just 2.8 seconds, while 200km/h can be reached in 6.8 seconds. The top speed of the Elva comes to 326km/h, that’s if you dare to reach it. If you do, we highly recommend wearing a helmet and goggles.

Having only driven 50km since new, this thing is just begging to be driven. As of writing, the TradeMe Motors listing for the McLaren is nearing 10k views, with 228 potential buyers having added it to their watchlist.

With an asking price of $2.8 million, that makes the Elva the most expensive car on TradeMe, eclipsing that of the 2022 Mercedes-Benz GT Black Series that was listed in January for $1,249,990.