McLaren Artura hybrid supercar revealed

McLaren has unleashed the first instalment of its electrified future with the reveal of the McLaren Artura, the Woking-based company’s first series-production plug-in hybrid supercar.

carsales was among a select group of media invited to a closed-room preview of the all-new model in Dubai on January 12.

Order books are already open for the McLaren Artura, which is offered in four specification levels, with UK prices starting at £185,500 for the standard specification, positioning it on par with the current McLaren 600LT.

The latter costs $455,000 plus on-road costs in Australia, so expect a similar entry point for the Artura when it lands here in the third quarter.

There are three further core specifications: Performance, which has a sporting, functional aesthetic; TechLux, where the focus is on the technical luxury that the name suggests; and Vision, which displays a more avant-garde and adventurous look and feel.

Although the Artura doesn’t make a huge break from McLaren’s existing design language, the debutant is a clean-sheet design that’s underpinned by a brand-new platform and features a cutting-edge drivetrain and suspension.

The Artura is billed as the first model to be based on all-new McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA) that’s built in-house and optimised for HPH (High-Performance Hybrid) powertrains.

In keeping with McLaren’s minimalistic and built-for-purpose philosophy, the Artura’s super-formed aluminium and carbon-fibre bodywork has a “shrink-wrapped” look and it contributes to a lithe dry weight of 1395kg – or 1498kg with all fluids on board.

McLaren claims it’s the lightest car in its class, despite its 130kg of hybrid components.

But arguably the real highlight is the all-new twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre (2993cc) V6 petrol engine (designated M630) that’s paired with an E-motor and energy-dense battery pack, producing combined outputs of 680PS (500kW) and 720Nm, which isn’t too far off the 530kW/770Nm belted out by the monstrously rapid McLaren 720S.

The Artura’s dry-sump all-aluminium V6 alone ekes out 430kW/585Nm, and is said to be both compact and lightweight.

At just 160kg it weighs 50kg less than a McLaren V8 and is significantly shorter, enhancing packaging efficiency. The 120-degree V6 enables the turbochargers to be placed between the cylinder banks (in the “Hot V”) and its stiff crankshaft enables a rev limit of 8500rpm.

The new powerplant is said to feature the biggest delta between on- and off-throttle sound, enabling it to fulfil the dual role of daily driver and engaging track car, according to McLaren.

In addition, the chain drive is housed at the rear of the engine, reducing NVH intrusion into the cabin.

Meanwhile, the 70kW axial E-motor that provides additional boost is located within the transmission bell housing. The E-motor, which weighs just 15.4kg, delivers instant torque of up to 225Nm, ensuring what the manufacturer claims is the sharpest-ever throttle response from a McLaren supercar.

The raw stats make for good reading, with the 0-100km/h sprint dispatched in 3.0 seconds flat; 0-200km/h in 8.3sec; and 0-300km/h in 21.5sec. Top speed is electronically limited to 330km/h.

On the flipside, the Artura is billed as the most fuel-efficient McLaren ever produced, consuming a miserly 5.5L/100km in the combined EU WLTP cycle and emitting just 129g/km of CO2.

The 7.4kWh battery pack supports 30km electric-only range, so the Artura has at least part-time EV credentials.

The battery pack can be recharged from zero to 80 per cent in around two-and-a-half hours with a standard EVSE cable, says McLaren, and it can also harvest power from the combustion engine. The driver can select a “set charge to 100 per cent” function that prioritises using the V6 to charge the batteries, for example, ahead of entering an urban area.

The new MCLA architecture features three elements: an all-new carbon-fibre monocoque occupant structure, a new chassis with aluminium crash beams and rear subframe, and what McLaren claims is the first-to-market domain-based ethernet electrical architecture.

Four years in the making, MCLA is said to be the first architecture to be manufactured at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC), a new facility in the Sheffield region.

The company says this flexible yet incredibly stiff platform is scalable and heralds the “beginning of a new era of McLaren supercars”.

Also brand-new is the lightweight eight-speed dual-clutch transmission designed for the Artura.

The close-ratio transmission is capable of shifting in 200 milliseconds, with the torque of the E-motor used to smooth the transition from one ratio to the next. The first seven ratios are stacked close together, with eighth gear essentially an overdrive to make for frugal fuel consumption during highway cruising.

Interestingly, the transmission makes do without a reverse gear, as the E-motor runs in reverse instead, whenever you need to back up.

McLaren claims the Artura pairs two diametrically opposed characteristics as it’s touted as being both highly agile as well as highly stable, thanks to a completely new rear suspension concept and McLaren’s first electronically controlled rear differential, which together allow the full accessibility of the car’s dynamic behaviour to be separated from its high-speed stability.

There are three drive modes – Comfort, Sport and Track – which each of these tailoring the stiffness level of the dampers, as well as the settings for the E-diff.

McLaren has always favoured electro-hydraulic assistance over a fully electric steering set-up and has maintained this philosophy with the Artura in the quest to deliver the highest level of immediacy, on-centre feel and textured feedback to the driver.

The Artura is offered with a choice of three bespoke tyres, with the standard Pirelli P Zero featuring an asymmetric tread pattern that’s designed with particular focus on wet weather performance.

There’s also a P Zero Corsa tyre that’s designed for both road and track and features racing-type compounds and unique tread patterns, achieving higher grip levels as well as improved braking and traction.

The other tyre offered is the SottoZero, with a bespoke compound and tread pattern designed for optimum performance in winter conditions.

The Artura also features the innovative ‘Pirelli Cyber Tyre system’. Consisting of hardware and software integrated into the vehicle electronics, the system has an electronic chip in each tyre and generates a stream of data based on tyre-specific conditions that’s relayed to the control systems of the Artura to deliver the best tyre performance.

Other Artura highlights include an all-new interior with all key controls accessible without requiring the driver to take his or her hands off the wheel.

There’s also a new 8.0-inch HD touch-screen infotainment system enabling configuration of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and smartphone mirroring.

The McLaren Artura is backed by a five-year vehicle warranty; six-year battery warranty and 10-year body warranty.