The new McLaren Artura is here, and it is a new step for McLaren. The old “sports-series” as they called it has gone and so has the 540C, the 570S, the 570GT, the 600LT, and the limited 620R. The Artura is a replacement for the “sport-series” cars and it wants to offer something those cars didn’t.
The Artura wants to be a mix between all of those cars. It’s designed to be comfortable like the GT but ultimately, it is a full-on supercar that has a 100hp advantage over the outgoing 570S. It also has two fewer cylinders and a battery on board. The Artura is also the first McLaren in the modern era to use a proper name rather than a load of numbers and a letter. It’s also the first hybrid McLaren since the P1.
It’s powered by a 3-liter twin-turbo V6 and an electric motor. Combined, they both push out a whopping 671hp and 531 lb-ft of torque. That’s incredible and the car itself only weighs 1395 kg. To put that into perspective, the Acura NSX which shares a similar powertrain weighs almost two tonnes. That’s a less powerful car as well.
The Artura is here to revolutionize the McLaren lineup, so let’s take a deeper look at it.
It’s No Longer The Cheapest McLaren
The McLaren Artura is no longer the cheapest McLaren on sale today. It starts at around $250,000 which is a lot more than the old 570S, which started at just over $191,000. The cheapest McLaren model right now is the GT supercar which in some ways replaces the outgoing 570GT. That starts at $210,000 which is still a lot.
The Artura then gets pushed up the supercar hierarchy, and it no longer rivals the likes of the Porsche 911 Turbo S and the Audi R8. Instead, it rivals cars such as the Lamborghini Huracan Evo and the Ferrari F8. This means the 720S McLaren replacement will be so much special and maybe even rival the likes of the Ferrari SF90 and Lamborghini Aventador.
How Fast Is It?
Very fast. It hits 60 in 3 seconds and flat out it does over 200 mph. It hits the quarter-mile in 10.7 seconds too which is incredibly fast. The electric motor alone pushes out 94hp and 166 lb-ft of torque. That’s more than the battery in the NSX. The battery is a plug-in and has a range of 19 miles which is great and it takes 2.5 hours to charge to 80%.
The Artura revs to 8000 rpm which is a lot. Therefore, the exhaust note will be pretty good.
The cheaper McLaren GT has 612hp and 456 lb-ft of torque. It has less power but it does have a twin-turbo 4 liter V8 rather than a twin-turbo V6. It too does over 200 mph and it’s also so much more comfortable since it’s a GT car. That does a 0-60 too of 3.1 seconds, 0.1 seconds slower than the new Artura.
How Does It Compare To Its Rivals?
The new Artura doesn’t really compare to its 570S predecessor rivals. Mainly because it is just so much more expensive. Compare this to say the Porsche 911 Turbo S, it may be more powerful but it is slower to 60. It also has two fewer seats and it’s also RWD.
How about the Acura NSX? A car that is very similar to the Artura in terms of engine and hybrid system. That has less power and a slower top speed. However, it does a faster 0-60. It’s also almost $100,000 cheaper.
The Maserati MC20 then? That’s a new supercar by Maserati which also costs over $200,000. That too has a twin-turbo V6 but it has less power. It does though have a similar 0-60 time and it also has cool doors and it’s $50,000 cheaper.
So the Artura is pretty much just as fast as the old 570S rivals yet it is so much more expensive. Ok, how does it compare against cars that are priced at a similar point to it?
The Lamborghini Huracan Evo has a 5.2 liter V10 with 631hp and 443 lb-ft of torque. That’s less power and it costs more as it comes in at a price of just over $261,000. It does do a faster 0-60 at 2.9 seconds and flat out does 202 mph. It has a better engine and it looks cooler.
The Ferrari F8 starts at over $276,000 which is a lot. But for that, you get 710hp and 568 lb-ft of torque. A lot more power and it does a 0-60 of 2.9 seconds with a top speed of 211 mph. Way faster than the Artura.
How about a Corvette C8? A car that is almost $200,000 cheaper and it has a lot less pedigree. It has less power and it doesn’t have as much tech. However, it does a 0-60 of 2.8 seconds which is faster than the Artura, and the engine is a 6.2 liter V8. The ZO6 and ZR1 are due to come out too, and they are set to have so much more power from a supercharger. The Artura then is beaten by a cheaper supercar by GM.
Should You Buy One?
In all honesty, no. There isn’t much point. If you want a fast McLaren for $250,000, then you can get a good spec newish 720S on the used market. You can also get a high-spec McLaren GT, which is just as fast, for the same money. The Artura will suffer from depreciation so if you really want one, wait and buy used.
The cheaper entry-level rivals seem so much cooler. I much prefer the 992 Turbo S which is faster. I also like the MC20 as it has so much more detail and it is pretty unique.
Then you can have almost four C8 Corvette models for one Artura. There isn’t really much of a power difference between these two cars anyways.
The options are also pretty expensive too meaning you will probably pay so much more for the Artura. Maybe even close to $300,000 which is used market Aventador territory. It is nuts and your much better off spending your money elsewhere on another car.
The Artura is a great car but it’s not for us. We would much rather a look at the used market first because we believe you can get a car that provides so much more value on there.
Featured image credits via: topgear.com