Woking's ‘Woke' Moment

McLaren Artura downsized, hybridised ... But performance into the next dimension thanks to e-grunt, plus the ability to run as a short-haul ev. Meet the brits’ crucial step-change model

- Angus Mackenzie

NO DISRESPECT to any sports car brand,” said Ron Dennis in 2008 as he revealed McLaren was about to get into the business of building road cars, “but few can list 20 World Championships, and wins at Le Mans.” Few? Dennis was being generous. There was really only one. “I’d love to aspire to be Ferrari,” he said in answer to the obvious question.

Fast-forward to 2021. Ron Dennis no longer has any involvement at McLaren, but the car he was announcing – then code-named P11 but launched as the MP4-12C – has since spawned a 14-model lineup. Bold, brave hypercars like the Speedtail and the brutalist Senna have earned the McLaren name plenty of street cred.

But those Ferrari aspirations? They’re still a work in progress.

Enter the McLaren Artura. The Artura debuts a new vehicle architecture and a new hybrid powertrain that are both designed to take McLaren into the next decade. “It’s a supercar for a new era,” says Jamie Corstorphine, McLaren’s director of product strategy. But the Artura’s core characteristics – lightweight and quick responses – are very much anchored in McLaren’s history. In many ways the Artura is evolutionary, not revolutionary.