McLaren’s next-gen hybrid supercar will be called ‘Artura’

KUALA LUMPUR: McLaren Automotive is well known for its proficiency, experience, and engineering achievements in race and road cars for more than half a century. At present, the British automaker is working on a High-Performance Hybrid (HPH) supercar that mixes new technologies and lightweight construction with hybrid power. 

After revealing its first teaser in camouflaged form last month, McLaren now confirmed the name of the supercar. And, as suggested by rumors and trademark filing, this time the automaker ditched its numerical naming scheme and dubbed it as ‘Artura’. 

Said to be the marque's first HPH series production car, the McLaren Artura is built on a new platform specifically designed to accommodate the hybrid powertrain. For this, the company applied various weight-saving technologies throughout the chassis, body, and powertrain to counter the weight of the hybrid system. With McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA) at the heart, the Artura will have the class-leading weight advantage.

McLaren has already showcased its electrification expertise in the McLaren P1 hybrid hypercar in 2012 and more recently in the Speedtail Hyper-GT, and now it is building Artura with that expertise as the base. The Speedtail is the brand's fastest car with a top speed of 403 kmph.

Although McLaren has not yet confirmed the mechanical specifications of the Artura, the pairing of a twin-turbocharged V6 mill, and an electric motor is likely to produce a combined system output of over 600 horsepower and 600 Nm of peak torque. The EV range is expected to be around 20 miles (32 km).

Of course, the Artura will also have the potential of running on electric power alone, with a range enough for “everyday emission-free urban journeys.”

Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive said, “Every element of the Artura is all-new – from the platform architecture and every part of the High-Performance Hybrid powertrain to the exterior body, interior and cutting-edge driver interface – but it draws on decades of McLaren experience in pioneering super-lightweight race and road car technologies to bring all of our expertise in electrification to the supercar class.” 

McLaren Artura is slated to go on sale in the first half of 2021.

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