McLaren is now also turning onto Electric Avenue and building the Artura, the first top athlete with a plug-in drive. For the British, technology is a small revolution, while design is just evolution.
England is just like electrified: First Bentley announces the departure from the internal combustion engine, then Jaguar and now McLaren is pushing the charging station. Because when the British launch the Artura, which is available for prices starting at 226.000 euros, they too will take the first few meters on Electric Avenue and at least provide the petrol engine with an electric motor for short trips. This is by no means as consistent as with Bentley or Jaguar, where the reciprocating piston engine is completely retired, and company boss Mike Flewitt does not promise the first pure electric car until the second half of the decade. But that's a big step for the super sports car segment. Apart from a few exclusive and extreme exotic vehicles such as the Porsche 918 Spyder or the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, it is the first athlete of its kind that can be charged from a socket. This means that McLaren takes pole position ahead of Aston Martin, Porsche, Lamborghini or Ferrari - no wonder that CEO Flewitt speaks of a milestone not only for McLaren, but for the entire segment. And even if the 5,5 liter standard consumption is pure poetry from the test bench, the Artura is undoubtedly more efficient than its conventional competitors. This is one of the reasons why they put a “Futura” in the name next to “Art”.
Additional electric power
For this, not only was an electric motor integrated, but the entire drive was also redesigned: The last 4-liter V8 is history and makes room for a six-cylinder with 3-liter displacement, which has an impressive 429 kW / 585 hp. At his side is an electric motor with 70 kW / 95 PS, which is integrated in the eight-speed automatic transmission, which is also new. It is fed by a battery with a usable capacity of 7,4 kWh, which can be charged at any household socket within 2,5 hours. Alternatively, the battery uses excess engine power and fills up while driving.
If you want to please your neighbors or relieve emissions-plagued inner cities, you can start silently with the Artura at the push of a button and roam up to 30 kilometers - and at least reach the local limit everywhere except in Germany. Because the Stromer also manages 130 km / h on its own.
Unlike SUVs and sedans, the plug-in for sports cars is less about the kilometer than about kilograms. Because more important than the greatest possible range for the engineers is the lowest possible weight. And here, too, McLaren has achieved a lot. Including the 15 kilos for the electric motor and 90 for the battery, the entire plug-in system weighs only 130 kilos and, with a dry weight of 1.490 kilograms, the Artura is lighter than some super sports cars with conventional drives. The driving performance is correspondingly impressive: when a combined 499 kW / 680 PS and up to 720 Nm tear at the rear wheels, the 100 mark falls after 3 seconds, even 200 km / h is reached after 8,3 seconds and the end is only at 330 km / h.
Interior improved
The drive may be a revolution for McLaren, but the appearance is more evolutionary. Because even if the carbon chassis is completely new and this time baked in-house, the 4,54 meter long, 1,98 meter wide and 1,19 meter flat Artura looks shockingly similar to the conventional coupés. The British are only taking a bigger step inside: There are digital instruments, an infotainment screen that floats like an oversized smartwatch in front of the center tunnel, and the key buttons for setting up handling and performance are now finally placed in such a way that they can also be used with the Hands on the steering wheel.
Although McLaren is making the first few meters on Electric Avenue with the Artura, the British, unlike the competition from the old world, still don't want to say goodbye so quickly - CEO Flewitt wants to continue working on the combustion engine until at least 2030.
