We knew that McLaren was going to use the new plug-in hybrid supercar, the Artura, for a while, and last night the company proved used to beI’m not just wearing everyone. The Artura is here, and it’s so lime-colored and chock-full of new technology, even though it still looks very McLaren from the outside. And technically it doesn’t have a reverse gear, but I’ll get to that shortly.
The Artura is completely new, right down to the chassis. While all McLarens have used the same carbon fiber base shell since 2009 and a V8 engine, the Artura uses an all-new platform, the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA), along with a twin-turbo V6 engine and an interesting permanent magnet electric motor.
The V6 engine is what’s known as a ‘hot vee’ design, meaning that, unlike a conventional V-type engine with the intake manifold in the valley of the V (remind me to save that for the title from a series of YA novels), a hot vee has the exhaust manifold inside, with the turbos nestled in there too, which can make for a more compact design.
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The 3-liter 120-degree V6 delivers 577 horsepower and 431 pound-feet of torque and weighs a surprisingly light 353 pounds, much less than previous McLaren V8s. It’s also an undersquare design, where the stroke (90mm) is greater than the bore (84mm) and revs up to 8,500rpm.
Also interesting is the electric motor that the Artura uses: it is also called an an “inside out” electrical motor. Technically it is an axial flux motor, which actually places the moving part of an electric motor, the rotor, inside the stator and flattened it into more of a disk than a cylinder shape, creating an extremely powerful and compact unit.
This engine produces 94 horsepower and 166 lb-ft of torque, and thats other party trick is some I referred to in the headline: It moves the car in reverse, with the motor running in reverse instead of having a reverse gear in the transmission. So when an Artura reverses, your Honda Fit delivers more power.
Speaking of power, the electricity because the motor comes from a 7.4 kWh lithium-ion battery, liquid-cooled and divided into five modules and mounted exactly in the middle, under the rear of the passenger compartment.
Even with the addition of heavy batteries, the Artura’s lighter MCLA platform keeps the car’s total weight at approximately 3,300 pounds, light for a hybrid.
On battery power alone, the Artura can drive less than 20 miles, but only at speeds up to 40 km / h, above which the V6 kicks in. So if you want to be unobtrusive, do it slowly. Of course, the electric motor also helps with speed while driving, bringing the Artura to 60 in about three seconds, to 200 km / h in 8.3 seconds and a top speed of a very reasonable 205 km / h.
Even without reverse, the Artura’s transmission is an eight-speed three-clutch, with two of the clutches working as they would in any dual-clutch gearbox. and one to turn the electric motor on or off.
The bands are quite advanced as well, as it uses Pirelli’s P Zero Corsa “cyber tires” that use internal sensors and a 5G connection to send data to the car, so if you have friends who have been panicked by 5g conspiracies, maybe don’t tell them.
The Artura design is in keeping with McLaren’s usual aesthetic and basic design language, albeit refined in a number of ways. The car is very compact with minimal overhangs and looks very nimble overall. Edges are curved and there are almost no corners to be found. Elements such as the laser-cut heat dissipation panel on the back are surrounded through curved body panels, and I think the result works very well.
There are also many nice details, such as these functional heat dissipation vents …
… and this beautiful flying buttress design for the C-pillar:
McLaren also showed a red and black Artura, and I think the roof works well in the contrasting color too:
The inside looks comfortable, but is quite driver-oriented, with a large LCD dashboard and a central vertical oriented LCD that appears to house HVAC, infotainment and all other controls. Those white chairs: I think you’ll want to ask your passenger to top that off chili dog before going in if you are a supporter of that sort of thing.
Rather than a conventional shifter, these fun little keys are:
The instrument displays are pleasant non-skeuomorphic, with a very clear and legible, almost minimal design:
If you want to buy a few, I’ve heard they cost around $ 225,000, but I can’t say what you could get on your trade-in of the 2005 Chevy Malibu, so keep that in mind.