Here it is, at long last. More than a year after its global debut, the McLaren Artura has now finally made its way onto our shores, bringing McLaren’s first-ever series-production hybrid supercar here into Malaysia.
The new model hopes to help the company usher in a whole new era of electrified motoring, and according to the press release, “leading the transformation among the supercar motoring in Malaysia” in line with the government’s push towards the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).
EXTERIOR
The Artura is the first model in the firm’s line-up to be built on the all-new McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA), which has been designed specifically for the hybrid powertrains, and is built in-house at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MTCT).
The MCLA chassis weighs just 82 kg by itself, while the body panels – made out of superformed aluminium and carbon fibre – are then “shrink-wrapped” onto the chassis, giving it a pure and functional look, or what McLaren calls a “form follows function” design philosophy.
As you could’ve imagined by now, lightweighting is one of the McLaren Artura’s main goals, and they’ve most definitely knocked it out of the park. Parked by the kerb, the entire car weighs just 1,498 kg – or just 27 kg more than a 720S.
In terms of exterior design, the Artura still gets all of McLaren’s signature design touches, including the ‘Hammerhead’ line in front that runs horizontally from the nose and extends into the deeply inset logo-shaped headlights, the cab-forward silhouette, steeply raked windscreen, and the flying buttresses at the rear.
Don’t for a moment think that they’re just for aesthetic value, however, as they are all designed with specific aerodynamic and/or cooling purposes; the hammerhead line, for example, helps to split the airflow down into the eHVAC system and over the bonnet, while vents hidden beneath the flying buttresses at the rear help keep the car’s transmission cool.
The Artura comes as standard with staggered 19-inch front and 20-inch rear cast alloy wheels as standard, but the optional flow-formed or forged options help trim unsprung weight even further by 10 kg.
PERFORMANCE
A large part of the Artura’s lighweightness actually comes from – believe it or not – the engine itself. Despite it being a hybrid power unit, with a 7.4 kWh battery pack, the entire powertrain weighs just 290 kg, or only 80 kg more than the old McLaren V8.
- Powertrain – 3.0-litre, 120°-angle twin-turbo hot V6 petrol engine, E-motor on rear axle
- Transmission – 8-speed dual-clutch transmission
- Driveline – Rear-mid engine, rear-wheel drive
- Max horsepower (engine) – 585 hp @ 7,500 rpm
- Max torque (engine) – 585 Nm @ 2,200 – 7,000 rpm
- Max horsepower (motor) – 95 hp
- Max torque – 225 Nm
- Total system output – 680 hp, 720 Nm
- 0-100 km/h – 3.0 seconds
- 0-200 km/h – 8.3 seconds
- Top speed – 330 km/h
Thanks to the Artura’s minimal weight, the new hybrid supercar boasts a class-leading power-to-weight ratio of 488 hp/tonne at its lightest dry weight. And on top of that, it’s also billed as McLaren’s most fuel-efficient car ever produced, with a rated fuel consumption of under 5.6 l/100 km.
The electric system is mostly used for “torque infill”, making up for the turbo lag from the engine to ensure a sharp throttle response at any engine speed. However, on its own, it can also be driven at up to 130 km/h, provided you don’t exceed its measly 30 km electric range.
An electrically controlled differential is employed on the rear axle to control torque split between the wheels, while allowing for flashier features such as Variable Drift Control. Meanwhile, the McLaren Artura also comes as standard with the firm’s Proactive Damping Control II that reads the road ahead using sensors to adjust the supercar’s damping settings on the fly.
INTERIOR
The Artura carries on McLaren’s typical minimalist design guidelines inside the cabin, with most of the secondary vehicle functions (aside from driving, that is) stuffed into the vertically-mounted eight-inch infotainment system that is also slightly angled towards the driver for better usability.
The infotainment system also comes with the usual Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity support, alongside other telemetry data that will prove useful on the track.
As you’d notice from the infotainment display placement, the design of the cabin is very much centred around the driver. To that end, the digital instrument cluster is mounted directly onto the steering column to ensure visibility at any seating position, and the entire steering wheel is devoid of any control buttons so the driver can focus on driving.
The McLaren Artura comes as standard with the Clubsport seats, which are developed from those found in the Senna, and can also be optioned with a harness bar and six-point harnesses if track driving is more your jam. For those who rather do long-distance GT-style journeys, though, there’s also an optional Comfort seat with 10-way adjustability and heating functions – although you’ll have to add 9.5 kg to the weighing scale.
OPTIONS, OPTIONS, OPTIONS
The Artura is the first McLaren car to offer advanced driver assistance systems, with the list of features including Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with stop and go functionality and roadsign recognition, Lane Departure Warning, as well as High-Beam assist.
Also available is a Technology Pack, which includes the Bowers & Wilkins audio system, the aforementioned ADAS suite, and a 360-degree Park Assist, while the Practicality Pack adds a front axle lift system to aid clearing bumps, eight parking sensors, and power-folding heated wing mirrors.
Of course, McLaren Special Operations (MSO) will also be on hand if you want more customisations beyond what’s offered from the brochure – just make sure your wallet is able to keep up.
PRICING
The McLaren Artura hybrid supercar is now available to order in Malaysia via McLaren Kuala Lumpur, with a starting price of RM1,050,000 before taxes and any options. A five-year vehicle warranty, six-year battery warranty, as well as a 10-year body warranty are also included in the list price.
GALLERY
