The new McLaren High-Performance Hybrid (HPH) will be called the Artura. The company says it will utilise its experience with the McLaren P1 to create its fastest ever car.
McLaren is targeting a top speed of 250mph, with power sourced from a hybrid powertrain based on a V6 twin-turbocharged petrol engine. Power, torque and economy figures haven’t yet been released.
It’s not clear why McLaren has chosen Artura as the name of the hybrid supercar. A Google search proved inconclusive, although a possible link to King Arthur seems rather appropriate for a British supercar. What’s clear is that Artura follows the Senna, Speedtail and Elva in having a name rather than a number designation.
McLaren says the V6 petrol-electric powertrain will offer the performance of a V8 engine, but with improved torque at low engine speeds. It will also run on electric power for zero emission urban journeys. This could be as much as 20 miles, according to Autocar.
‘Decades of McLaren experience’
“Every element of the Artura is all-new – from the platform architecture and every part of the High-Performance Hybrid powertrain, to the exterior body, interior and cutting-edge driver interface – but it draws on decades of McLaren experience in pioneering super-lightweight race and road car technologies to bring all of our expertise in electrification to the supercar class.”
said Mike Flewitt, chief executive officer, McLaren Automotive.
The Artura is the first McLaren to be based on an all-new platform designed for electrification. It will be designed and built in the UK at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre in Yorkshire. The production facility was opened by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, in 2018.
It will go on sale in 2021, but not before our Tim Pitt has been treated to a preview. We’ll bring you more news in due course, including confirmation of any links to the legendary King Arthur.
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