McLaren Artura: Full (hybrid) power ahead

»Life is not measured in years, but in achievements.« Bruce McLaren once said. In the British town of Woking, they take their company founder at his word. Not only do they call themselves a »pioneering company« at McLaren Automotive. They also put their money where their mouth is. The Artura, for example. It's just as electrifying as its role model, the P1. The hybrid hypercar impressively showcased the power of the two drive systems back in 2012. And last year the Hyper GT Speedtail, the fastest McLaren ever with a top speed of an impressive 403 km/h, went into production. And still, the Artura does it all differenly. McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt emphasizes. It is the first sports car from Woking to use a V6 engine - with »only« three liters of displacement. That means two cylinders and at least half a liter less than usual. Another new feature is the chassis, which is even lighter than before and offers space for hybrid components as standard. The goal: Just like the P1, the Artura is to be a pioneer in hybrid performance and outpace the competition. And do so sustainably.

How does that go together with sportiness? In the case of the Artura, very well: 585 hp from the biturbo-charged V6 are combined with 95 electric hp to launch the sports car to a speed of 100 kilometers per hour in just three seconds. And the ace up the sleeve of this car, named after »Art« and »Futura,« is its lightness: Despite the hybrid system, it weighs only 1,498 kilograms - no more than its competitors, which it easily beats in terms of performance. This was achieved, for example, by a particularly compact and lightweight dual-clutch transmission that only has eight forward gears. In a way, the Artura's gearshift is representative of the entire car: from now on, it should only go forward. How is one supposed to maneuver it then? Probably not at all - but if necessary, the electric motor takes over this task. But it prefers to push along with the V6 - and with a total of 680 hp, it accelerates full speed in the direction of the future.