McLaren Artura hybrid supercar set for February 17 debut

The McLaren Artura will be officially unveiled during an online presentation on February 17, a US dealer has revealed.

According to Motorcars of Atlanta, "McLaren celebrities" will pull the drapes from the all-new hybrid-powered McLaren Artura at the British supercar-maker's Woking HQ during an event specially tailored to the media and owners.

Releasing a new teaser that fails to give us a glimpse of the car it plans to reveal, McLaren is now simply directing interested parties to a special microsite to register for the press conference.

But plenty is already known about the replacement for the entire McLaren Sport Series range.

Developed under the ‘High-Performance Hybrid’ (HPH) codename, the McLaren Artura is thought to come from the Celtic name 'noble'.

Created to rival the Ferrari F8 Tributo, the new McLaren will not only debut the company's new advanced hybrid V6 powertrain but introduce its all-new carbon-fibre architecture.

Replacing the old Monocell, the new McLaren Lightweight Carbon Architecture has been developed to package both the batteries and electrical architecture needed for the shift to hybrid power.

The new structure is set to offer even lighter weight and higher levels of rigidity compared to Monocell-underpinned supercars.

Little has been revealed about the new V6 hybrid engine, other than that the battery and electric motor on board will enable the vehicle to run for at least 35km in pure-electric mode.

McLaren claims the hybrid “retains the performance benefits of McLaren’s larger-capacity V8 engines and has the additional attraction of improved torque response at low engine speeds to deliver scintillating acceleration”.

Set to be the car-maker’s first series hybrid – which replaces the long-serving Ricardo-developed twin-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 – McLaren says the new powertrain will combine "blistering performance", plus all-electric range "capable of covering most urban journeys”.

Until now, hybrid power has been reserved for McLaren Ultimate Series models, with the McLaren P1 the first to be introduced with an electrified V8. 

Since then, the wild McLaren Speedtail has shown the benefits of hybrid power, with the 4.0-litre V8 hybrid producing a monstrous 773kW and 1150Nm of torque – enough to hurtle the teardrop-shaped hypercar to a 403km/h top speed.