Meet the start of something big for McLaren: the HPH (High Performance Hybrid) supercar.
The Artura is the company’s first completely new model since the MP4-12C of 2011, boasting a new McLaren Lightweight Carbon Architecture (MCLA) that’s been designed for a new family of electrified models.
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McLaren says Artura is its first series-production hybrid supercar (with a tip of the hat to the limited-run P1 hypercar). It combines a new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine with a plug-in “E-motor”, producing combined outputs of 500kW/720Nm.
It might be the most economical McLaren road car ever (including battery-only range of 30km), but acceleration will be brutal: 0-100km/h in 3.0 seconds, 0-200km/h in 8.3sec and 0-300km/h in 21.5sec!
The combination of the “superformed aluminium” and carbon fibre structure with a smaller-capacity engine has resulted in impressively light weight, despite the addition of the hybrid system: just 1498kg.
Impressively, McLaren has noted that the Artura weighs the same as supercars that don't feature a hybrid drive system, meaning that it is somewhat in a category of its own.
McLaren has kept it pure with hydraulic steering, but the car also promises to be a real tech-fest.
There’s a new Proactive Damping Control system for the rear suspension and the Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber has Cyber Tyre technology, which puts a microchip inside each wheel that communicates with the car’s driver-assistance systems for optimum handling.
Deliveries begin in the third quarter of this year. The Artura is available to order now with a choice of four specifications with an expected local pricing range to start from NZD $375,000 - $385,000 onwards.