In the time of horse drawn power, there was a sporty open carriage called the spider phaeton. It was known as a spider because it had a small body and large wooden eight-spoke wheels. And it is from that carriage that the term ‘spider’ came about when referring to convertible automobiles.
Fast forward a couple of hundred years and we now have the likes of the Artura Spider, McLaren’s first-ever high-performance hybrid convertible. At its heart is the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture, which provides a secure platform with no loss of rigidity when the fixed roof is removed on the convertible. With a dry weight of just 1,457kg its easily the lightest among its convertible competition and just 62kg more the Artura coupe with that weight accounted for by the electrically-operated retractable hard top mechanism.
I think that the Artura is the sexiest shape among the current crop of supercars especially finished in this gorgeous Tanzanite Blue metallic paint. I particularly liked carbon fibre rear diffuser and the glazed section in the buttresses that not only aids rear visibility but also doubles as a channel for airflow into the engine bay area. The wide side sills also make the Artura very easy to get in and out of.
The dihedral doors add that extra bit of supercar-ness according to my son. The doors may look big and cumbersome but they are very easy to open, even in tight places, you simply unlatch and give them a slight shove with your elbow and the gas strut does the rest and lowering simply involves an easy pull down. There is even a drink bottle cubby in the doors and the bottle doesn’t fall out when you lift the door up.
The retractable hard top itself is a carbon fibre and composite panel but can also be configured with an electrochromic glass panel, like in this Artura, which can either brighten the cabin or block more than 99% of sunlight at the touch of a button. The roof is operated by an overhead control from inside the cabin or from the key fob when the car is stationary, allowing it to be opened or closed from the outside of the vehicle.
In just 11 seconds and at speeds of up to 50km/h the Artura Spider’s retractable one-piece hard-top roof folds up and under the rear tonneau cover. The open-air experience enables closer connection to the environs, and driving along the stunning coastline south of Sydney I could feel the warmth of the sun rising while savouring the essence of the scent of salt water. There is some buffeting in the cabin when the roof is down, but it still easy to hold a conversation with your passenger.
Or if you just want the pleasure of the V6 engine soundtrack nearer to you in the cabin you can simply lower the rear window instead. This soundtrack has been enhanced, with a revised valved exhaust system incorporating a tuned resonator and upward conical shape to the tailpipes to further refine the engine note at the middle and higher points of the rev range. According to McLaren this provides a ‘cleaner’ sound that envelops the occupants.
Although you don’t get the satisfaction of popping the hood to look at the Artura’s engine, I love the caged look at the rear that it allows you to peer into the engine bay. Step into the Artura it whirs to life and when you push the start button and it silently awakens in EV mode. If there is no battery remaining the engine immediately fires into life and the engine conditioning process that reduces vehicle emissions by warming the catalytic converter before engaging drive to the combustion engine, has also been recalibrated for driver convenience and is now up to 90% faster when first selected on startup.
The free-revving nature of the V6 engine with its 8,500rpm redline is supported by the twin turbochargers being located within the ‘hot vee’, positioning that enables them to spin more rapidly, improving throttle response and they also give a lovely turbo whistle when driving. The advanced 3.0-litre V6 and plug-in hybrid E-motor powertrain produces a combined 515kW of power and maximum powertrain torque of 720Nm. With the E-motor delivering transient torque of up to 225Nm, ensuring instant throttle response. The battery/ICE switch over can be a little rough at times, but when the engine does kick in you get to enjoy that lovely V6 engine note in all its glory with the roof down.
The E-motor is powered by a battery pack comprising five lithium-ion modules, offering a usable energy capacity of 7.4kWh and an increased EV range of 33km. Overall, the Artura’s compact hybrid componentry, including the 88kg battery pack and 15.4kg E-motor, adds just 130kg to overall weight. To charge the battery at home you get a home charging cord that can be stored in the frunk of the Artura.
The official combined fuel consumption for the Artura Spider is 4.8L/100km, but for my weekend of fun I used 14.0L/100km of petrol. But let’s be honest the E-motor is here to improve the performance and the Artura Spider’s ferocious acceleration is almost indistinguishable from coupe: 0 to 100km/h in 3.0 seconds; 0-200km/h in 8.4 seconds; 0-300km/h in 21.6 seconds and on to a maximum speed of 330km/h. The Artura truly has the speed of the trap door spider, which leaps out to seize its prey before hauling it back into the burrow to be devoured.
The advanced eight-speed transmission designed specifically for the Artura’s high-performance hybrid powertrain integrates the E-motor yet is still very compact. The gearbox calibration has been revised for the MY25 Artura and the eight-gear close-ratio gearbox now has a new pre-fill feature that provides even faster gearchanges, with shift speeds increased by 25%. The Artura has push button selection for drive, reverse, and neutral mounted in a sculptured carbon fibre centre console. The McLaren doesn’t have Park so you have to remember to engage the park brake always when you pull up to stop.
The cabin of the Artura Spider is trimmed in performance or luxury materials and retains the purposeful, driver-focused design of the coupe. The ‘clean’ steering wheel is free of buttons and controls, aside from the sculpted gearshift paddles which move with the wheel for optimal driver ergonomics. The knife-like metal paddle shifters are so sensuous to look at and caress and offer a crisp metal resonance when you run your fingers off them like a musical instrument, I am completely besotted by them! I even love the smooth design of the stalks behind the steering wheel for the adaptive cruise control, wipers, and menu selection for what information is displayed on the left-hand side of the driver’s display.
The driver display binnacle moves with the steering column when adjusted for reach or rake to ensure all driving information is always within the driver’s eyeline and has the option to memorise the position as well. On either side of the driver’s display are rocker switch controls to select Handling and Powertrain modes, allowing changes without taking your hands off the steering wheel.
The Artura has four powertrain drive modes: Comfort, Sport and Track, plus the electric only, emissions-free E-mode that are adjusted from the right-hand side rocker switch. Comfort mode combines electric and hybrid drive for extended stop and start driving with the combustion engine shut off at low speeds and redeployed when speeds or acceleration inputs demand. Sport and Track modes use the electric motor in an increasingly aggressive manner for low-end response and acceleration (‘torque infill’) and incorporate sharper gearshift strategies. I flicked between Comfort and Sport on the powertrain settings and found that even in Sport mode the ride is not bone rattling and still quite pleasant.
Track mode delivers the highest high-voltage battery recharge rate or in the other modes you can select between Auto and Max charging of the hybrid battery while driving. In Auto mode I saw very little charge returning to the battery with maybe just 1-2% overall, but in Max charging mode it was somewhat better with 9% gained in around 60km of driving.
Handling adjustments are made on the left-hand side rocker switch with Comfort, Sport, Track settings available and a button in the middle of the switch turning the ESC off. I spent the weekend simply enjoying the Artura so spent most of my time in Comfort mode.
The Clubsport seats electrically adjust through an elliptical arc to combine the range of motion expected of a moveable backrest with the light weight and close support of a bucket seat. They are manually moved forward and back and the adjustable four-way lumbar support also fitted to my Artura. I like to be fully lowered down/tilted back to give me the sense that I’m in a racing car driver’s position. Added to perfect seat adjustment is the perfect foot rest placement for me, but the narrow pedal box meant I had to concentrate on what pedal I was pressing.
The touchscreen infotainment system facilitates smartphone mirroring to support Apple CarPlay only and has Bluetooth. The optional wireless charging for enabled mobile devices is located at the very front of the centre console. There’s one USB-A and one USB-C port located under the slim arm rest available as well. The Artura had an excellent heater for my cold morning start, it was so cold I actually got tyre pressure warnings on all four tyres, which was very disconcerting when it first happened, until I realised everything was OK.
This Artura Spider also had the optional Bowers & Wilkins 12-speaker surround sound audio system, which is exclusively available with the Technology Pack. This system features Bowers & Wilkins’ Continuum midrange speakers to ensure precise reproduction of voices and instruments throughout the cabin, complemented by Nautilus Aluminium Double Dome tweeters to provide greater clarity at high frequencies. The Artura Spider additionally features an additional rear centre speaker to optimise the cabin’s convertible-specific acoustic requirements.
The Artura Spider is an easy to live with supercar with convenient features like a good sized frunk, auto lights with auto high beam, auto wipers, blind spot monitoring, cross-traffic detection, adaptive cruise control, and lane change warning – that can easily be turned off using a button next to the steering wheel to the right of the driver. For assistance with parking, you have an overhead view of vehicle with front and rear parking sensors displayed on the infotainment screen and standard rear view camera displayed in the driver’s dash. The nose lift operates very quickly and you want this as I think I would cry if I caught the bumper lip on a kerb.
Every new Artura comes as standard with a five-year, unlimited mileage vehicle warranty; a six year, 75,000km battery warranty and a ten-year anti-perforation body warranty. These warranties can be extended. A three-year service plan is also included, as is a five-year roadside assistance package.
The McLaren Artura Spider offers everything the Artura coupe can with the added benefit of roof down driving on those perfect Sydney winter days. The MY25 Artura Spider is priced from $525,010 excluding delivery and on-road costs and is available to order now from McLaren retailers in Australia or you can configure your McLaren Artura Spider online.
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| Pros | Cons |
| The open-air performance on offer | No Android Auto |
| The beautiful gear selectors | Narrow pedal box |
| The Clubsport seats | Tyre pressure monitor was set off by the cold weather |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.