McLaren’s got a new car coming — its first built on an all-new platform and powertrain in about a decade. It’s called the Artura, and we’ll get our first full look at it on February 16.
Until then, McLaren has uploaded another teaser to YouTube. The last one revealed the car’s name — a departure from the alphanumerics that have made up much of Woking’s lineup until now — and this one shows lots of quick, close-up cuts as well as a shadowy profile view. Clearly, the desire is to not give much away, though if you’ve seen any McLaren built within the last five years, you can probably connect the dots yourself.
The Artura represents an important step for McLaren. While the company has built hybrids before, like the P1 and Speedtail, this will be its first hybrid produced in true numbers. McLaren suffered a dismal 2020, laying off 1,200 employees across the entire organisation, so it needs the Artura to be a hit.
Power will come from a twin-turbo V6 alongside an electric motor, with McLaren claiming that the additional weight of the batteries will be “largely offset” by its new Carbon Lightweight Architecture. The Artura will be able to travel short distances propelled only by its batteries, reportedly about 32 km.
Even within the limited scope of this teaser, it’s easy to see that the Artura fits the McLaren mould proportionally. This isn’t such a bad thing, as the 720S is a very pretty supercar. Still, as I said when McLaren announced the name, I can’t help but feel an opportunity has been missed to make a statement with the Artura’s exterior that matches the significance of what’s going on underneath the body. The more I see of it, the more I think McLaren is underselling the moment with overly familiar styling. Sat side-by-side with a 720S, you’d never suspect the two cars are very different mechanically.
The reveal will begin streaming from McLaren’s website at 12:01 a.m. GMT on February 17 (10:01 am AEST), or 8:01 p.m. ET on the 16th. Expect a lot of lime green.