2025 McLaren Artura Spider First Drive: Drop-Top Hybrid Supercar

MotorTrend

You can take McLaren’s hot new hybrid-powered Artura Spider with 690 horsepower to the track or your favorite canyon road for some fun

Transcript

00:00Hey everybody, I'm Mike Floyd with Motor Trend, and we're here on the beautiful French Riviera

00:13to sample the new McLaren Artura Spyder, McLaren's latest supercar, and it's a hybrid supercar.

00:23The new Artura Spyder joins the coupe for 2025, and it arrives as McLaren has made several

00:29updates to the Artura lineup.

00:32So what's it got?

00:33690 total system horsepower, a bump of 19 horsepower thanks to software changes applied

00:39to the engine's twin-turbo setup.

00:42It's got a revised eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and of course, better

00:48suspension tuning, part of its prodigious powers derived from the Artura's axial flux

00:53motor that supplies extra juice.

00:55The Artura Spyder is also a plug-in hybrid, and when its battery is fully charged, it

00:59can travel up to 11 miles on electricity alone.

01:03We used the electric mode during our short, steady drive through the fanged streets of

01:07Monaco, and it slinked along with little more than a faint electric whine.

01:12But we spent most of our time with the Artura Spyder's top-down and its powertrain and handling

01:17modes in the track setting, attacking tight canyon routes and blasting along rivets of

01:22French Country Road.

01:24The Artura's eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox has been adjusted by McLaren to make it shift

01:2925% faster, and its damping system is now some 90% more responsive than before.

01:35True to form, the Artura Spyder responded with lightning quickness to our inputs, and

01:39its deftness of movement, razor-sharp steering, and ferocious braking are as you'd expect

01:45from a supercar like this.

01:47The star of the Artura Spyder's show is its retractable, one-piece hardtop that can drop

01:52in just 11 seconds at speeds of up to 31 miles an hour thanks to no less than eight motors.

01:58We tried it while trundling along through one of the quaint French villes on our drive,

02:03and the top, which is constructed primarily of carbon fiber and aluminum, worked flawlessly.

02:08Of course, the Spyder's new top necessitated some new air inlets to keep everything cool

02:15under the hood.

02:16See this little bump here?

02:18It's a gurney flap, and it was developed in conjunction with the F1 team.

02:22Given it's a McLaren, the Artura Spyder is also based on a carbon fiber tub design, making

02:27it the lightest convertible in its class.

02:31And while it breaks no new ground from a styling standpoint, that's not necessarily a bad thing,

02:36as it looks aggressive and purposeful.

02:38You know it's a McLaren, and you know it's a supercar.

02:41Step inside the Artura Spyder, and it has all the luxury trimmings you'd expect from

02:45a car that starts at just under $274,000, most notably the handcrafted leather seats

02:51that we found to be both comfortable and supportive during our more aggressive parts of our drive,

02:56and the addition of McLaren's updated infotainment system.

03:00The Artura Spyder's cabin is fantastic, and it has these two binnacles that easily adjust

03:07handling and powertrain.

03:08It all helps make the Artura Spyder as livable and daily drivable as any supercar in its

03:13class.

03:15If that's not a banger to you, then get on the horn of a McLaren and get your order in

03:18as deliveries are expected to begin later in 2024.

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