McLaren Artura – Superlight Supercar

Weight means everything to McLaren, or rather: saving it. The brand consistently builds cars that are among the lightest in their class. This also applies to the Artura, the latest model from Woking. Text: Perry Snijders
Online editorial: Noa Verseveldt
Image: Ansho BijlmakersThe empty weight of the McLaren Artura is 1.498 kilograms, while the dry weight is even limited to 1.395 kilograms. That makes it the lightest car in its class. More than 140 kilograms lighter than a Porsche 911 Turbo, to name a few. And while the McLaren is a hybrid; you usually think of boring, heavy cars. In addition to a petrol engine, they also carry an electric motor and a heavy battery. However, that image is not entirely justified. Of course, there are hybrids where it is true. But it has been years since cars like the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spider and LaFerrari proved that a hybrid hypercar is faster than a conventional one with only a combustion engine. The technology has also proven itself in Formula 1: as early as 2009, the first race was won by a car with a hybrid drivetrain – by Lewis Hamilon, in Hungary, to be precise. No wonder the technology is now finding its way into supercars.

Electric

You can even drive completely electrically with the Artura, although your range is limited to thirty kilometers. No one will buy an Artura for that reason, but make no mistake: there are car manufacturers who think it is a matter of time before environmental zones are introduced in cities in which you can only drive electrically. And then it is useful that it is possible. Yet that is not the only environmental goal. Supercar manufacturers such as McLaren also have to meet emission standards. In plain language: they must reduce the consumption of their cars. This is not only pleasant on the tank, but also in the showroom: in the Netherlands, purchase tax is largely based on emissions. Above all, the hybrid powertrain ensures that the performance of the Artura far exceeds that of its 'predecessor', the 570S. The 'predecessor' is in quotes: McLaren does not see the Artura as a direct replacement for the 570S. The fact is, however, that the latter model is going out of production now that the Artura is on the market, so a comparison is obvious. With a power of 680 hp, it has 110 hp more. You can accelerate to 3,0 kilometers per hour in exactly 100 seconds. A sprint from a standstill to 200 takes you 8,3 seconds, while you go from 21,5 to 0 in 300 seconds. Those 21,5 seconds is approximately the time it took a Mercedes 200D, the taxi of the eighties and nineties, to reach 100, to put it into perspective. At 300 the party is not over yet, because the top speed is 330 kilometers per hour.

Greatest achievement

The petrol engine in the Artura is a completely newly developed V6 with 585 hp, which is no less than 19 centimeters shorter than the V8 that McLaren used until now. This of course also ensures that the V6 is lighter than the V8, by no less than 50 kilograms, one of the reasons why the Artura was able to remain so light. In an interview mentioned McLarens head of power train, Richard Jackson, the low weight is even the absolute highlight of this engine, the greatest achievement. The Axial Flux E-motor (the electric motor) is of course also as light as possible. Some brands opt for multiple electric motors, which are then mounted near the wheels, for example. However, for the lowest possible weight, McLaren opted to use one, which is located in the transmission housing. An additional advantage of the electric motor is that it provides a direct throttle response; A petrol engine must first reach the correct speed, an electric motor delivers its power immediately.

Assured

Anyone who has reservations about so much new technology, or even about the reliability of a supercar, will be relieved to read that McLaren offers a lot of certainty. For example, every Artura comes with a five-year (or 75.000 kilometer) warranty, a six-year (or 75.000 kilometer) battery warranty and a ten-year bodywork warranty (without mileage limitation). In addition, roadside assistance is available for five years. But that's not all: all regular maintenance work is also included in the purchase for the first three years. Every 15.000 kilometers (or once a year for those who drive less) the car can be brought in for maintenance, during which all regular work is carried out, such as an oil and oil filter change, new air filters for the combustion engine and e-motor, brake fluid and an extensive safety inspection . Only wear parts, such as tires and brakes, are at the customer's expense.

Sculpture

The super-fast Artura is not super-fast in one respect. Delivery should have already started, but production has been delayed due to the corona crisis, reportedly mainly because suppliers are having problems supplying software and chips. That's a shame, because we've been eager to drive it since our first meeting in January. Until now, however, the introduction was limited to test sitting in a stationary car, where all attention could now be focused on the beautiful materials and the beautiful design. Designer Robert Melville speaks of a 'purely technical sculpture', where the technology is packaged in a jacket that is not a size too large. We can't argue with him, but now we also feel like doing what the Artura was made for: driving!