McLaren’s new plug-in hybrid supercar is something of a bargain as Artura takes the fight up to the Ferrari 296 GTB
With the supercar arms race freshly reignited by the Ferrari 296 GTB, it’s now time for McLaren’s fightback. All-new from the ground up, the 2022 McLaren Artura sits on a fresh carbon-fibre monocoque and gains an advanced electrified V6 with epic power and thumping torque that ensures its performance now encroaches into hypercar territory. Sadly, Woking’s killer punch doesn’t come cheap, with an eye-watering $61,000 price hike over the McLaren 570S it supersedes. At more than $456,000 before on-road costs and options are added, is the McLaren Artura really worth it? Let’s find out…
Decisions, decisions…
McLaren originally hoped to steal Ferrari’s thunder by launching the new 2022 McLaren Artura many months ahead of the Ferrari 296 GTB – until an embarrassing software glitch saw its introduction in Australia delayed by almost a year.
Now all fixed, the British supercar-maker is confident the Artura will touch down in September 2022.
Baseline pricing for the Artura is set at $456,218 plus on-road costs – a considerable $61,000 bump over the previous McLaren 570S coupe that started at $395K.
Easing some of that price pain is the knowledge that the Artura is both well-equipped and comes with plenty of no-cost option packs.
As standard it gets soft-close doors, full LED head- and tail-lights, Jet Black Alcantara Clubsport seats, Alcantara headlining, a pair of wonderful black satin gearshift paddles, 10-spoke super-light forged rims, carbon ceramic brakes, a 10.0-inch digital instrument cluster and an 8.0-inch infotainment system that finally works with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
If you’re not digging the excessive pseudo-suede finish, a Performance, Technolux and Vision trim are all available that bring more Nappa leather and some wild contrasting colours in pre-set combinations.
Alternatively, you can consult with McLaren’s excellent MSO in-house bespoke division that will happily customise and personalise your Artura to your heart’s content – for a price.
Of course, aside from colour and trim there are still plenty of reasons to pay a visit to the options list.
For starters, you’ll want the Tech Pack that adds auto high beam, a powerful 12-speaker premium sound system, adaptive cruise control with road sign recognition, lane departure warning and 360-degree park assist.
Kudos to McLaren, for while the Tech Pack costs around $11,900 in the UK, it’s yet another no-cost bundle for buyers Down Under.
If you’re ordering an Artura, another must-have is the Practicality Pack that adds power-fold mirrors, front and rear parking sensors and the vital nose lift. Again, McLaren Australia will throw it in for free.
Other popular options well worth considering is the Carbon Fibre interior pack ($780), Alcantara steering wheel ($1570) and lumber adjustment for the standard Clubsport seats ($1680), or go for the Comfort seats that feature power adjustment ($6260) if your back doesn’t gel with the fixed-backrest Clubsport pews.
Finally, the $9420 sports exhaust should also be on your shopping list as it’s not too shouty, even for urban dwellers.
One thing to avoid, according to Pirelli itself, are the P Zero Corsa tyres ($2410) – unless you plan on spending plenty of time on track.
The standard P Zero rubber, which has been specially tailored to the McLaren, offers plenty enough for most in the grip department and can cope with both rain and sub-15-degree temperatures. They also feature next-gen sensors embedded within all three sets of Pirelli tyres that give more accurate temperature and pressure data than previous systems.
When it arrives in Australia, the McLaren Artura will be protected by a five-year/75,000km factory warranty as well as six-year/75,000km coverage for the hybrid battery and 10 years’ corrosion protection.
Further extended warranties provided by McLaren can boost the factory-backed protection to 15 years, something Ferrari introduced back in 2021.
Impressively, for the first three years, McLaren will cover the cost of all regular maintenance every 12 months/15,000km, although owners will still be responsible for wear-and-tear items like tyres and brakes.
Plug and play
Plenty of car-makers describe their newest offering as ‘all-new’ but the British supercar marque really isn’t fibbing with the 2022 McLaren Artura.
Instead of updating or overhauling the platform and 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 powertrain from the McLaren 570S, the engineering team started from scratch.
That explains why the new entry-level Macca now sports a trick 3.0-litre 120-degree V6 twin-turbocharged plug-in hybrid electric powertrain.
Alone, the M630 V6 combustion engine is a remarkable achievement as it tips the scales at just 160kg – an astonishing 50kg lighter than the M840 V8 it replaces.
Thanks to its unusual 120-degree cylinder angle, it also sits 40mm lower in the chassis for a reduced centre of gravity.
Alone, it produces 430kW at 8500rpm – a bump up on the 419kW in the 570S – but McLaren knew that to truly compete in the latest supercar arms race, that wouldn’t be anywhere near enough.
That explains the added electrification – chiefly a new electric motor that is neatly packaged within the Artura’s new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission belltower.
Using tech developed originally for the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, the round axial-flux-style motor is larger than a dinner plate in diameter, weighs just 15.4kg, but produces 70kW and 225Nm.
Fed current from a 7.4kWh battery, McLaren claims the Artura is capable of covering up to 31km on electric power alone at speeds of up to 130km.
That helps McLaren, on paper at least, deliver remarkable efficiency for its new entry-level supercar, with the Artura said to be able to average 4.6L/100km and 106g/km under the WLTP regime.
According to McLaren data, most owners who will daily their Artura will spend Monday to Friday without ever awakening its V6 twin-turbo – but that’s only if they remember to plug in, with an 80 per cent charge taking 2.5 hours using a household socket.
Of course, few owners will actually worry or care about the money-saving abilities of the new Artura.
Instead, they’ll care about how fast it can fire you down the road, and behind the wheel you’ll not be left wanting.
Thanks to the added electrification, total power and torque rocket to 500kW and 720Nm.
Those figures are a huge hike over even the McLaren 600LT (441kW/620Nm) and the extra urge is reflected in how the Artura launches off the line.
Even though all of its urge is still channelled through just the rear wheels, the 0-100km/h sprint now takes just 3.0 seconds, 0-200km/h comes up in an incredible 8.3 seconds, while top speed is limited to 330km/h.
Not long ago those acceleration figures were respectable for a hypercar, but today, despite its best efforts, the McLaren isn’t even the quickest in the supercar class.
That accolade goes to Ferrari. Somehow, the Italian car-maker manages to extract 610kW and 740Nm from its electrified 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6.
The resulting 2.9sec 0-100km/h dash over the McLaren is marginal, but the full one-second advantage the 296 GTB takes from 0-200km/h (7.3sec) is more significant. The secret to the Ferrari’s success? Its performance advantage is gained simply by a bigger, more powerful electric motor (122kW/315Nm).
Road and track
McLaren has not left a technological stone unturned when developing the 2022 McLaren Artura and its specification reads like what would once have been a multi-million-dollar McLaren P1 successor.
Key to its abilities is that the Woking-based F1-team-turned-car-maker has ditched its previous Monocell carbon-fibre monocoque for an all-new tub called the MCLA that will be used for other models, including the upcoming McLaren 720S replacement and a potential Ultimate Series hypercar.
The new tub allows easier access to the cabin via a pair of dihedral doors that now mimic scissor doors in the way they pivot to help aid entry in tight car parks.
The other reason for the expensive switch to the new MCLA carbon building block is the new ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre architecture has to safely package both the new battery pack and embedded tech needed for its Level 1 and 2 semi-autonomous systems.
Despite this, the structure is an impressive 10 per cent lighter than before, while boasting even more rigidity to the benefit of handling and safety.
Not that McLaren has completely triumphed in the battle of the bulge. Weighing in at 1498kg (with all fluids), the Artura is 46kg heavier than the previous 570S, although many would forgive that increase when you consider its new-found performance and efficiency.
Crucially, the Artura is also a significant 75kg lighter than the Ferrari 296 GTB.
Its weight is all the more impressive considering that further kilo-cutting could have happened but didn’t. That’s because McLaren engineers have shown unwavering commitment to maximising driving dynamics.
It’s the reason why there’s heavier hydraulic steering for better feel and there’s now an electronically controlled mechanical limited-slip differential that adds 8kg.
Helping offset the new diff is a Getrag-sourced eight-speed dual-clutch transmission that does without a reverse gear and uses the electric motor for silent rearward propulsion.
And silence really does dominate the first few moments spent in the Artura.
Once you’ve quickly become utterly comfortable within the snug cabin, the McLaren always defaults to pure-electric mode from start.
It’s pleasing that, under electric motion alone, the Artura is still brisk and that 225Nm torque peak is enough to spin up the rear wheels at low speed.
When you’ve escaped the city limits or grown tired of saving the planet, you need only to toggle away at a new rocker switch mounted to the digital instrument cluster.
Instead of a loud bark, you’re rewarded with more of a cultured growl from the V6 and the transition from electric to combustion is near seamless.
As well as taking care of providing all the motive force from speeds below 64km/h, the electric motor also provides useful torque-filling duties, which means, if anything, the McLaren feels even more powerful and torquier than the claimed figures.
Flattening the throttle for the first time is nothing short of alarming while fourth gear provides for devastating cross-country pace.
Drop down to second or third along the same roads and you begin to question why you’d ever need anything faster.
It’s in the lower gears you can also begin to explore the new 120-degree V6’s aural range, which, like the Ferrari, does occasionally sound like a V12 but mostly doesn’t try to disguise its V6 nature.
If you’re coming from a V8 Ferrari you might feel a little short-changed on the theatrics front, but owners of anything powered by the gruff-sounding 3.8-litre McLaren should be just fine.
Aside from very occasional clunkiness as you shuffle down the ’box at low speed, the eight-speed is more than a match to keep up with the frenetic progress.
To preserve pedal feel, McLaren experimented with, but ultimately abandoned, regenerative braking. That said, even without it, on the roads we drove, at times the brake pedal feel still felt lacking.
Unusually, the powerful carbon ceramic brakes also began to rely more on ABS intervention the hotter they got when the pedal travel lengthened, which is bizarre, since during a few fast laps on track on stickier Corsa tyres they felt fine and demonstrated zero fade.
A high point of the McLaren is the impeccable steering feel and precision, plus the excellent all-round visibility that inspires confidence.
Grip levels are huge at road speeds around the front axle but the Artura is also sensitive to the throttle, obliging in small, controlled drifts that enrich the drive and explain why it needed the new limited-slip diff.
Instead of focusing on ultimate lap times, the Artura has been set up to be accessible and a lot of fun, says McLaren.
That explains why on track it was possible to unearth some understeer that telegraphed its extremely high limits without a transition into violent oversteer.
Key to flattering its driver are its unobtrusive stability aids that largely go undetected, especially in its flat-out Track mode.
Back on the road, even in the sportiest driving modes, the ride never falls apart.
The smallest McLaren misses out on hydraulically connected dampers for a set of regular active shockers. But the Artura doesn’t miss the more sophisticated system, with both Comfort and Sport settings able to shrug off even the nastiest of mid-corner bumps while offering decent long-distance comfort.
Even tyre and wind noise are better contained at speed.
It all adds up to a supercar you never tire of driving. And, indeed, thanks to its compact dimensions –4539m long, 2080mm wide and 1193mm tall, which mirror the outgoing 570S – the Artura feels at home in the city and on the narrowest country roads, making it something you won’t be afraid to drive every day.
Rules of engagement
In a straight line, the 2022 McLaren Artura loses the pub/country club bragging rights to the Ferrari 296 GTB. And for some prospective buyers, that will be enough to seal the victory for Maranello.
Those more engaged with the supercar genre won’t be quite so dismissive of the new Brit, and we’re willing to bet a back-to-back drive on real roads will reveal a narrower performance gap between the two.
Until then, it’s near impossible to declare outright victory. But from our first taste of its dynamic brilliance, explosive performance and advanced powertrain, not to mention its shrink-wrapped, jaw-dropping looks that pictures just fail to capture, the McLaren Artura is a supercar that’s simply impossible to ignore.
And then there’s the icing on the cake.
It’s rare we mention the phrase ‘good value’ when we’re talking about half-a-million-dollar supercars, but the 2022 McLaren Artura seems conspicuously cheap beside the $568K 296 GTB.
The $112,000 margin suggests the upcoming lighter, more powerful McLaren Artura LT will be the closest rival to the Ferrari 296 GTB, at least when it comes to performance, but we’d worry it will trade the standard car’s glorious everyday useability for track day thrills.
How much does the 2022 McLaren Artura cost?Price: $456,218 (plus on-road costs)Available: September 2022Powertrain: 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol-electricOutput: 430kW/585Nm (electric motor: 70kW/225Nm)Combined output: 500kW/720NmTransmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch automaticBattery: 7.4kWh lithium-ionRange: 31km (WLTP)Fuel: 4.6L/100km (WLTP)CO2: 104g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested
Keyword: McLaren Artura 2022 Review – International