The McLaren Artura is a next‑gen supercar

The Artura’s hybrid predecessors were both million-pound machines bult in limited numbers; the Artura is for everyone. Well, everyone with £185,000 to spend.

With a price like that it’s not quite the entry model that the outgoing Sports Series was – the least expensive McLaren is now the GT, starting at £165k – but then in a host of ways the Artura is a very different beast from the models it supposedly replaces.

The Sports Series grown up for a new world order? That’s pretty much it, but the Artura goes further by premiering new technologies like a new V6 engine, a new carbon monocoque, McLaren’s first electronic-differential and new electrical architecture that will make possible a new generation of McLarens. It makes today’s Artura debut a “landmark moment”, according to McLaren chief Mike Flewitt.

The Artura is certainly different from Woking’s then-pioneering 2014 P1 whose plug-in hybrid layout the new car mimics, including its ability to run in zero-emissions electric mode. Select the E button and the Artura can serenely cruise city streets for up to 30km (18.6 miles) with juice from its 7.4kWh Lithium-ion batteries. That is getting on for three times the P1’s electric range. The car will charge the batteries by itself but if it doesn’t you can get an 80 per cent top-up using a standard cable in two and a half hours.

Zero emissions running isn’t the only thing to have come on in the six years since the P1, and McLaren says it has poured everything it knows into developing what will likely be its best-selling model. Take, for example, the Artura’s 95PS (70kW) electric motor. It is an axial rather than radial flux motor, is a third more power-dense than the P1’s motor and, at 15.4kg, is under half its weight. It is also compact enough to be tucked away inside the transmission bell housing.

Weight and power: two things you can rely on McLaren to get right and the Artura doesn’t disappoint. The new car boasts a combined system power of 680PS (500kW) with 720Nm (530lb ft). Plenty of power goes hand in hand with not a lot of weight, for a hybrid at least. The best dry weight is 1,395kg with a kerb weight of 1,498kg, and as McLaren points out that’s not an uncommon amount for non-hybrid supercar. It is axiomatic that hybrids weigh more, but here the total added weight of all hybrid components has been brought down to 130kg. As a result McLaren claims a class-leading power-to-weight ratio of 488PS/tonne.

The engine is McLaren’s first V6. It’s an all-alloy, dry-sump 3.0-litre with compact twin-turbos nestled into its vee so it can sit nice and low in the chassis. At 160kg it weighs 50kg less than the McLaren V8. It develops 585PS (430kW) for a near-200PS/litre specific output which is higher than all McLaren engines save for the V8 in the Elva and Senna.

The V6 develops its maximum power at 7,500rpm while the red line is set 1,000rpm higher. Its torque of 585Nm (433lb ft) peaks between 2,250-7,000rpm with any dips in the curve “infilled” by the e-motor’s 225Nm. It’s the reason McLaren says the car’s throttle response is its sharpest ever, specially from standstill.

The transmission is the brand’s normal style of paddle-shift dual-clutch auto but with an extra ratio (now eight) and, to save some weight and space, no reverse gear; like the Ferrari SF90 Stradale hybrid, reverse motion is provided by making the electric motor run backwards.

On paper, the Artura’s performance appears perfectly in tune with expectations of a McLaren, with 0-62mph in 3.0 seconds, 0-124mph in 8.3 seconds and 0-186mph in 21.5 seconds. It is nowhere near P1 or Speedtail quick but it is a step up on Sports Series models – except for the last 620R track special whose acceleration it more or less matches – while maintaining a respectful gap to the quicker 720S. The top speed is limited to 205mph.

Oh, and in case you were wondering: yes, this is the most fuel-efficient McLaren ever produced with a theoretical (WLTP) combined consumption of 50mpg and 129g/km CO₂.

The Artura shares roughly similar dimensions (4.5m long) with the outgoing Sports Series as well as a body of mostly aluminium over a new carbon-fibre monocoque. Dubbed McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA), it is similar in concept to the previous carbon tubs but has been designed for electrification. As such it will form the core of a range of future McLarens as well as the likely proliferation of the Artura range: this tub surely has been made with a convertible in mind.

For now though we have the coupe, and it looks good. The cab-forward proportions, black cockpit canopy, dihedral doors, big intakes sculpted out of the body sides, high tail and tiny rear overhang are all McLaren traits, as is the dearth of body shutlines; that rear section is just one huge clamshell panel. Incidentally the roof and flying buttresses do not have to be black, and in body colour they promise to give the car a quite different appearance.

The front end looks sharp with its recessed lights merged with vertical air intakes to form familiar McLaren shapes. The front screen is set at a fast angle and with typically slim A-pillars visibility should be good. The rear screen is upright (ready for the Spider!) and flanked by slender flying buttresses to deliver the required fastback profile.

The tail is characterised by twin exhaust exits up high just below the rear spoiler, leaving uncluttered space below for the diffuser. There’s some luggage space but at 160 litres total it’s a fraction of that offered by the GT. The cabin, in contrast, will likely live up to McLaren standards and offer plenty of room for people long of leg and broad of beam.

But will they like the new seats? In maximum weight-saving mode, McLaren has been bold and developed single-shell buckets with fixed backrests. The squab and backrest tilt as one around a fixed H (hip) point. McLaren says these new Clubsport seats offer the perfect driving position, but will fit fully electrically adjustable comfort seats for you (at extra cost) if you don’t like them.

At first glance the cabin appears to offer the simple, pared-back, technically precise look that McLaren has made its own, a restrained symphony in Alcantara and Nappa leather. There are however some major changes here such as making all key controls accessible with hands on the steering wheel – including those for powertrain and handling options. They have been moved to the instrument binnacle which now adjusts with the steering wheel. Maintaining a McLaren tradition, the wheel itself has no buttons on it at all.

There is also a new 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system and electric heating and air-con, while behind the scenes a new electrical architecture enables Over-The-Air (OTA) updates. This is also the first McLaren to offer driver-assist systems including adaptive cruise control with stop/go, road-sign recognition, lane-departure warning and high-beam assist. All of which may be important but won’t count for much with traditional McLaren owners who will want to know: how does it feel to drive?

McLaren assertions are yet to be proven but for the record Woking says the car will be “incredibly engaging to drive and display the highest levels of dynamic ability, on both road and track.” Well, we’d certainly hope so.

It is all mostly familiar underneath, with double wishbones up front from the LT Sports Series, the brand’s much-lauded hydraulically-assisted steering and, also from the LT models, standard-fit carbon-ceramic brakes. The tyres are Pirelli P Zero Corsa.

At the back there’s a new layout of upper wishbones and lower links, but the bigger news is McLaren’s first electronic differential. An E-diff is lighter and more compact than a mechanical locking diff but will it please drivers as much? As well as E (electric-only) and Comfort modes, drive options are Sport and Track, with additional handling choices for damper setting and ESP intervention.

Like any car from Woking, the new-generation McLaren will have to prove itself on road and track. But we look forward too to silently cruising through city zero emissions zones, engine off. A McLaren for every day and everywhere? Maybe so.

Order now one of the four specifications available and you could get your car in time to drive to this year’s Revival. See you in the car park!