The 2023 McLaren Artura is Impressive – but Not Perfect
The 2023 McLaren Artura is coming soon, and it proves that an electric supercar can have some chops. But the […]
Monza Staff
The 2023 McLaren Artura is coming soon, and it proves that an electric supercar can have some chops. But the new Artura isn’t perfect; it’s just getting there.
With its sleek familiar profile and a powerful electric engine, here’s where the 2023 Artura excels and where it falls a little short.
The ‘23 Artura’s Best Features
The 2023 Artura comes with an upgraded body style and a hybrid plug-in powertrain with plenty of innovation to bring to bear.
The body-style looks at a glance to be familiar, boasting a similar profile to earlier iterations, but with a few upgraded features that take it to the next level.
Motor Trend writes, “In the metal the Artura looks tighter, more sophisticated, more composed than any previous McLaren, with well-controlled surfaces, crisper detailing, and snugger panel gaps. The doors, rear clamshell, roof, and A-pillar are all ‘superformed’ aluminum pieces. The hood is a conventional aluminum stamping, and the front and rear quarter panels are made from composites.”
The Artura is a quarter of an inch longer than the 570S, but 1.2 inches shorter in the wheelbase – so there’s a difference just subtle enough to bewitch the eye.
Other features where the Artura wins include:
- The Artura is the first McLaren fitted with an e-differential, and the tires come standard fitted with Pirelli’s P Zero Cyber Tire which include a chip that provides real-time feedback on the state of the tires.
- The powertrain boasts a 577-hp, 431-lb-ft 3.0-lite twin-turbo V-6 that gives the car a quick-start agile feel; but it isn’t perfect.
The ‘23 Artura’s ‘Needs Improvements’
And where the Artura falls short starts with that impressive powertrain. Although it’s a quick car that accelerates on a dime, Motor Trends described it as an “aloof” drive and it’s an apt description. It doesn’t have the zing and pizazz of the 570S, so it’s somewhat of a letdown behind the wheel.
In addition, there are some bugs that need to be worked out – like the not so minor fact that during a test drive, the touch panel on the dash faded to black.
Motor Trends explains, “Out on the road loop, both the dash and the central touchscreen on our test car suddenly faded to black for no apparent reason. The digital instrument panel flickered back into life, but the central touchscreen remained out of commission—along with the air conditioning, the navigation, the audio, and the phone connection—for the remainder of the trip. Given it was a 90-degree day in sunny Spain, it wasn’t pleasant.
Our car wasn’t the only one with problems; several other Arturas suffered similar infotainment system failures, and one journalist was stuck by the side of the road when his car simply cried uncle and quit running altogether. It was eventually coaxed back into life but would only drive in ‘limp home’ mode, which made for a slow trip back to base.”
The worrying part is that McLaren seemingly knew about these software malfunctions months ago – and still hasn’t found the fix.
But hopefully before people hit the pavement with these purring beasts, they’ll have it fixed. All the potential is there – they just need to bring it to life.