A brand-new McLaren Artura caught fire during a test drive, with the customer behind the wheel, not far from the dealership. Nobody was injured, but the supercar is obviously a write-off.
The incident happened on Sunday, October 15, at around 2:30 p.m. local time, in Stourton, Leeds. Not much is left of this 2023 McLaren Artura. The blaze occurred soon after the prospective buyer, who was driving the vehicle, had set off to test the plug-in hybrid car in the company of a dealer employee.
The car suddenly went up in flames, not far from a McLaren dealership in Leeds, the United Kingdom. The driver remained composed and managed to get it off the road to avoid further hazard. Luckily, the two occupants exited the car and walked away unharmed, but the vehicle burned to a crisp and is most likely destined to end up in a scrap yard.
The local fire crew department received a call from the driver regarding a hybrid McLaren going up in flames during a demo drive, on the roundabout near the M1 at junction 44. Crews from Hunslet arrived at the scene at 2:35 p.m. and needed approximately half an hour to extinguish the fire. It was completely put out at 3:02. A Hazardous Material Officer disposed of the 7.4-kWh lithium-ion battery battery that the plug-in hybrid supercar is equipped with. The authorities are investigating the case of the fire.
The McLaren Artura was recalled in the US for risk of fire
McLaren did issue a recall in the US for a potential fire risk in late 2022. The carmaker mentioned two fuel leak situations that occurred on cars driven on the race track. McLaren found that a loose nut could compromise the connection of the direct injection fuel pump, allowing gas to leak and increasing the risk of fire.
The first fix was a tightening procedure implemented on cars before customer deliveries started. The second fuel leak, which showed up after this procedure was carried out, prompted McLaren to issue a recall of 164 examples in the United States. It is, though, unclear if this car in the UK was affected by the same issue or not. What we do know is that the Artura that caught fire in Leeds is a write-off.
Making its debut back in 2021, The Artura is the second hybrid model from McLaren after the P1 hypercar. The model is powered by a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine, which works alongside an electric motor. Together, they deliver 671 horsepower (680 PS) and 531 lb-ft (720 Nm) of torque to the rear wheels. The two-door coupe accelerates from 0 to 62 mph (0-100 kph) in just 2.9 seconds, while top speed is capped at 205 mph (330 kph).
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