The McLaren Artura is a cheap(ish) PHEV supercar

Tuesday, 23 February 2021

McLaren's latest creation is a plug-in hybrid twin-turbo V6.

McLaren has taken the wraps off its latest creation, the plug-in hybrid Artura.

It’s not the first time McLaren has given this degree of electrification a go. The mighty P1 from 2013 was also a PHEV, though that one also had a twin-turbo V8. The limited-production Speedtail is also a hybrid.

This one is powered by a mid-mounted biturbo 3.0-litre V6, a first for McLaren and indeed a first for the production world as this six uses a 120-degree angle with the turbos mounted inside the vee angle. Apparently, this is to reduce exhaust-pressure losses and lower the engine's overall height. This in turn lowers the car's centre of gravity for better handling.

The Artura might look a fairly standard McLaren but its powertrain should comfortably set it aside.

It produces a healthy 430kW on its own but paired with a single electric motor mounted between the engine and the new eight-speed transmission, the powertrain makes a total of 500kW and 720Nm. The motor is a new type too, called ‘axial flux’, which is possibly the coolest name ever for something that actually exists.

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The V6 uses a world-first 120-degree bank angle, making it almost flat.

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Expect around 30km of range on all-electric power. Just enough to pop down and get a coffee.

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There aren’t any buttons on the steering wheel at all. Thankfully, with an engine like that, you won’t want to be turning the music up much.

Performance figures are as follows: 0-100kmh in three seconds, 0-200kmh in 8.3s, a quarter-mile time of 10.7s and a braking distance from 100kmh to zero of 31 metres.

A new electronic differential sits inside the transmission housing, which is essentially an electronically controlled clutch pack that divvies torque between the rear wheels and allows quicker and more subtle shifts in torque than a traditional limited slip differential.

For those concerned about the lack of aural symphonics with the Artura’s new powertrain, fear not. McLaren’s engineers have been working on that and figured out how to let the engine sing up to 8500rpm, with real engine noises being piped into the cabin instead of a synthetic soundtrack.

All-electric range is around 30km, according to the WLPT test cycle, with the battery’s chemistry aimed more towards sustained energy over instant power. It might not sound like much, but it's enough to cruise to your favourite local cafe and show off the car.

Mention the battery, this is one of the thorniest aspects of building a hybrid supercar. At the moment, lithium-ion batteries are heavy things and while solid-state batteries will solve this issue, they’re still a while away. McLaren has opted for a five-cell, refrigerant-cooled, lithium-ion battery pack that tips the scales at 88kg, which means it's fairly small.

Thankfully, that axial flux motor weighs less than half of what the radial flux motor in the P1 weighs, which means all the hybrid gear – wiring and controllers included – adds just 130kg to the total mass of the car. McLaren says the Artura weighs 1498kg fully fuelled.

There are Senna influences in the double-wishbone front suspension with a new five-link system at the rear consisting of a top wishbone, two lower links and a toe control arm each side, ahead of the rear wheel. McLaren says these provide weight savings of 2.4kg per side and offer better wheel control under braking and acceleration, improved stability and enhanced grip levels.

‘Proactive’ dampers use accelerometers to ‘read’ a road and adjust rates according to conditions. Three drive modes allow drivers to further tweak the characteristics of the Artura, comprising Comfort, Sport and Track.

There’s a new, lighter carbon fibre chassis too, called McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture. This will likely feature on more models in the future.

A redesigned cabin features better noise, vibration and harshness reductions, a vertical infotainment screen and a steering wheel with no buttons on it.

Local pricing starting at $375,000 puts the Artura below the 720S and 765LT in the line-up. The old ‘Sport Series’ (570, 600 and 620 models) has been dropped, leaving the GT as the entry-level McLaren with the Elva, Senna and Speedtail ‘Ultimate Series’ above.

That’s not too bad, considering the Artura will arrive in a market essentially devoid of competition. Unless you include the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, which costs around $900k.

Expect a bunch of Artura variants as time goes on, including longtail, spider and GTRs.