What’s up with McLaren these days? The Woking-based carmaker has been rolling out one high profile product after another. It recently showcased its MCL35M, it’s Formula 1 car for 2021 via a grand virtual event and also recently, debuted its all-new plug-in hybrid supercar, the Artura, reinstating the electric approach McLaren has adopted going into the future.
Design
Starting off with the design, it is a design that McLaren claims should inspire the future generations of electric supercars. It still looks very McLaren-ish from the front with those DRLs, headlamps and a very McLarenesque bonnet design.
At the rear, it features a cool set of LED blade taillights and twin exhausts mounted where only McLaren would mount them. The design flows beautifully to the back and you can really witness the finesse and minimalism in McLaren’s approach to make it look beautiful without too many unnecessary elements. It is based on an all-new carbon fibre tub under the MCLA ( McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture ). It weighs 1498 kilos with all fluids which is indeed commendable considering it has all the hybrid components on board.
Specs and features
It glides on 19” Pirellis at the front and 20 inches at the back. Those Pirellis are a work of art themselves. These are specially engineered tyres by Pirellis called Pirelli Cyber Tyres which are standard across the Artura. These are, as Pirelli likes to call them, smart tyres and have a sensor embedded in each tyre integrated with the car’s electronic and software systems to provide real-time critical data and even assist the driver on a track. Magnificent, indeed.
On the inside, the cabin is laid out in a way that helps the driver to keep his eyes on the road as much as possible. The touch infotainment system is tilted towards the driver, the important dynamic controls are directly mounted on the steering column for the same. Finding a good seating position isn’t much of a task and the comfort and cushioning on the seats provide good support against those massive Gs you would pull should you corner like a pro.
The Artura is powered by a 3.0L V6 petrol engine that puts out 585 horses of peak power and 584Nm of peak torque, supplemented by an electric motor that delivers an extra 93 horses and 225Nm taking the combined power output to 678 horses and 809Nm. All the power is sent to the rear wheels with an electronic locking diff via an 8-speed sequential automatic transmission. It gets Comfort, Sport and Track modes and shoots from 0-100 in 3 seconds dead. The top speed is electronically limited to 330 km/hr and the electric-only range is around 31 with a top speed of 130 km/hr.