Last year, McLaren revealed an exclusive new model – the McLaren Elva. It’s a roofless, windowless two-seat supercar. McLaren used the McLaren-Elva M1A of the 1960s as inspiration for the new model. The bespoke British automaker is honouring the car’s illustrious racing history with a new theme from MSO, McLaren Special Operations, called the M1A theme.

The theme celebrates the Bruce McLaren’s McLaren-Elva M1A being the fastest car at the 1964 Canadian Sports Car Grand Prix. The car repeatedly smashed the lap record seven times and equalling the lap record four more. The original M1A tipped the scales at just 550 kg (1,215 pounds) using a 4.5-litre Oldsmobile 4.5-litre V8. McLaren infused the original M1A with cutting-edge technology, at least for the time.

And the McLaren Elva of today is no different. McLaren again built a cutting-edge speedster, this time infusing it with the latest and greatest technologies and materials. The modern-day Elva uses a lot of carbon fibre to keep the weight low. The powertrain is smaller in displacement than the original’s Oldsmobile 4.5-litre, but it makes way more power. The new Elva uses McLaren’s twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 that produces 804 bhp (600 kilowatts). It’s capable of rocketing the roofless supercar to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometres per hour) in under three seconds.

Gallery: McLaren Elva M1A by MSO

When McLaren revealed the Elva, it announced its starting price of £1,425,000 (including UK VAT), with customers able to customise their cars through MSO. McLaren also announced it’d limit production to just 399 examples. The McLaren Elva M1A by MSO pays homage to the iconic racing car that inspired its modern-day reimagining. It only makes sense for McLaren to honour that history with a special package that gives the sleek-looking supercar and nostalgic look and feel.