Revealed with much pomp and circumstance in February 2021, the Artura is a new breed of McLaren. There have been plug-in hybrid Maccas before, yet none of them feature a V6 with such an unconventional design.
Codenamed M630, the 3.0-liter sixer is a twin-turbo affair with a 120-degree V angle. This layout lowers the center of gravity, but it also requires a balance shaft that counters the primary imbalance within the cylinder banks. Had it not been for Porsche's long-running Neunelfer and the 356 before it, McLaren could have gone for a flat-six lump to further lower the center of gravity.
Narrower than the 90-degree V8 engines that McLaren employs in pretty much everything else, this 120-degree V6 features a couple of turbochargers in the valley of the V. Referred to as a hot-vee setup, the location of the turbos reduces manifold length, resulting in less lag.
The elephant in the room, however, comes in the guise of the European Union’s ever-stringent emission regulations. On the upside, fewer cylinders and less displacement enabled the straightforward integration of the axial flux electric motor around the output shaft between the engine and dual-clutch transmission. Driving the rear wheels exclusively, said motor also powers the vehicle in reverse because the eight-speed transmission doesn’t feature a reverse gear. Why is that? Obviously, to keep the weight as low as possible.
Tipping the scales at 1,498 kilograms (3,303 pounds), which makes it slightly lighter than the Ferrari 296 GTB, the Artura packs 671 ponies at full chatter. Torque peaks at 7,500 revolutions per minute to the tune of 531 pound-foot (720 Nm), and the V6 keeps spinning to 8,500 rpm.
Very impressive from an engineering standpoint, although the Artura does lack that certain something in terms of exterior design and soul. Be that as it may, it sure is a quick car in the quarter mile. Case in point: Ebrahim Kanoo of EKanoo Racing just ran 10.27 seconds at 139.87 miles per hour (225.10 kilometers per hour) at the Bahrain International Circuit’s drag strip.
His Dragy recorded 10.3 seconds on the nose, which is close enough to the official result. Last but certainly not least, zero to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) in 2.95 seconds is a tremendous result, full stop.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News