This Is The McLaren Artura Hybrid Supercar’s Exclusive Design Story

Artura’s design is informed by process. McLaren’s first series-production performance plug-in hybrid continues the marque’s quest to explore the most advanced engineering solutions and work with the toughest and lightest of materials, all the while refining the shape for optimum aerodynamics with the ultimate aim of realizing peak performance and driver engagement.

“Our mission was to create the most agile, dynamic, engaging, high-performance hybrid on the market and this meant saving weight,” McLaren’s design director, Rob Melville, tells me as I’m given a virtual tour of the Artura. “From a design perspective, it was about integrating as much as we could to create a piece of clean, pure, technical sculpture which showcases the technology without distracting the driver.”

Design here supports the engineering philosophy of lightweighting — as in shedding pounds and kilos where possible to aid efficiency and performance. Melville admits his team have had to be extra relentless to make up for the additional volume from the hybrid powertrain’s electric motor and battery pack. “For McLaren it is always about the airflow — showcasing the aerodynamics technology, showing the shrink-wraps, the layering to showoff how compact and dense the car is.”

The Artura is built on a new McLaren carbon fiber lightweight architecture (MCLA) and it introduces a high-performance V6 hybrid powertrain. Naturally for a McLaren, performance figures are impressive. The 2,993cc twin turbocharged V6 petrol engine provides a power output of 585ps and 585Nm of torque. While the axial flux small electric motor generates 95ps and 225Nm as this supercar speeds to 62mph from standstill in just three seconds.

I ask Melville what were the design challenges in achieving these numbers. “The challenge was in that so much of the car is new,” he replies, “like the monocoque and powertrain, which meant the aerodynamics and aerothermal had to be spot-on because of the engine’s high temperatures. Then we had to bring all these elements together and design a car that is pure in its aesthetics with very high levels of execution and craftsmanship inside and out.”

Melville and his creative team worked according to three key phrases: purity, technical sculpture and functional jewelry. He explains: “The purity is not only purity of line, but purity in the integration of components which results in lighter overall design through saving weight. This approach also leads to a cleaner design, better craftsmanship and execution.”

He goes on to unravel the second phase, technical sculpture. “When I present this concept to my team, I have sand dunes in the background being sculpted by wind and air. Like the forms you see in nature, the elements should be stunning to look at, but be there for a reason. Ours cars have to technical sculptures,” he says. “The third pilar, functional jewelry, is best explained by the fact that we don’t decorate.” Instead, the engineering elements offer aesthetic accents.

From the front, the McLaren’s classic hammerhead line runs forward across the front, dissecting the airflow down into the radiators or over the bonnet leading the eye to the deeply recessed headlights. The side intakes are large, the nose powerful and the rear haunches shapely. The general idea, Melville says, is for the car to have a bit of a menacing look to appear both beautiful and aggressive.

The body surfaces are clean and clear to highlights the drama of the deeply cut air intakes in the nose and doors. The roof is a single-piece aluminum structure as is the rear clamshell. The reduced bodywork contrasts with the theatrical dihedral aluminum doors that sweep outwards and upwards at the hinge.

Nothing is unnecessary in McLaren design. It is one of its main charms. Here too every element, even the door mirrors, have a job to do: manage airflow, cool the radiators, optimize downforce. Melville points me to the vented louvres on the front fenders on his computer screen, which are shaped precisely to reduce pressure in the wheel arches and guide dirty air away from the side intakes, while clean air is guided into those intakes via a complex aero path involving sculpted door channels.

The interior design followed a similar creative process to the exterior. One thing which remains constant is that every McLaren cockpit is built around the driver. In the Artura the digital instrument cluster is mounted directly to the steering column so that they always move together for perfect driver visibility of the instrumentation. Switches for the powertrain and handling modes are positioned in easy reach on either side at the driver’s fingertips, while additional control are placed close by, rather than on the steering wheel, to reduce distraction while driving. “You are focused, with eyes on the road, hands on the steering wheel, plus it frees up space in the center console,” says Melville. “The design team came up with an idea a few years ago, engineering listened, and made it happen. This is a great example of how McLaren works,” he smiles.

There are other clever design solutions happening in the Artura. Developed by the ergonomics team, the single-shell Clubsport seat is nimble — 9.5kg lighter than a regular sports car seat — yet is as supportive as the bucket seat conventionally used in sports cars. It also offers the range of motion you see in a seat with a moveable backrest, while the wide and padded upper portion gives equal support to slim and broad-shouldered drivers.

The leather story is interesting too. Melville explains: “Jo Lewis (head of color and materials design) worked with our supplier Bridge of Weir to create a leather that is the same thickness, same feel and quality as our regular material, but aerating the back reduces the weight by a couple of kilos, while maintaining the beautiful soft-touch feel the customer expects of our cars.”

The Artura is available to order for deliveries later this year. It represents the start of a move towards electrifying the McLaren range. Last year when I caught up with the company CEO Mike Flewitt, he teased about this car, adding: “Progressively, by 2023 pretty much everything we launch will be hybrid powered with the aim of having a fully hybridized range by the end of 2025.”

The Artura is a highly accomplished product and I cannot help thinking how each McLaren car seems to be competing with its predecessor in efficiency and performance. “The Artura represents a really big step forward in regard to maturation,” says Melville. “I think it’s a really solid piece of design and engineering.”

See my interview with McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt as he talks about the company’s mission to create the most advanced hybrid and later electric supercars