McLaren’s naming structure has become a bit crowded lately. Even as a certified car guy, the alphanumeric soup of 570S, 600LT, 650S, 675LT, 765LT, and so on has become hard to keep track of. As the new entry level model in the McLaren lineup, the Artura seeks to free us from the numbers with a proper name and a slightly more refined, recognizable design language.
Mind you, while the Artura is certainly a design improvement over the outgoing 570S, this is no radical design departure. There’s still a lot of McLaren here, from the design of the headlights and tail lights, to the classic McLaren greenhouse. I’m a big fan of the new rear fascia though, as I find it far more cohesive than any other McLaren’s of the past few years.
The Artura is particularly notable because it ditches McLaren’s range-spanning twin turbo V8 in favor of a new, hybridized V6. Sadly, that new V6 isn’t visible here, as McLaren opted for a black titanium engine cover over the glass engine covers that most exotics receive. As a result, I find the rear deck on the Artura a little boring, which just doesn’t seem right on a mid-engined supercar.
Luckily, the Artura makes up for its boring engine cover by looking absolutely stunning elsewhere. While this casting has a bit of an ugly panel gap behind the doors, I find the Artura to be the best version of McLaren’s modern design language, with classic supercar proportions from the side. I can’t help but see a bit of Lotus Emira in that side intake, which is certainly no criticism. I appreciate the McLaren logos on the center caps, and the McLaren’s side mirrors are gloss black rather than matte – unusual for a MiniGT.
MiniGT did an excellent job on the front of the Artura as well. Look how deep the intakes beneath the headlights go, and how well they’ve captured the recessed headlight lenses. There’s even a tiny McLaren logo on the hood, though it lacks the texture of the logo on LCD’s 600LT. The black printing on the lower fascia does look a tad cheap, but not horribly so.
Around back, the black honeycomb mesh also looks a bit cheap, though I’m happy to see printed brake lights and silver detailing on the exhaust tips. Speaking of silver, what’s that I see peeking through between the bumper and diffuser?
It’s hard to tell whether this is part of the engine, transmission, or hybrid system, but it’s definitely cool to see it rendered with so much detail. It definitely helps make up for the lack of a clear engine cover!
Compared to the aforementioned LCD model, this MiniGT lacks some of the fine details like brake calipers and interior detailing, but it feels appropriately detailed for its price. It may not be MiniGT’s finest work, but it’s still a cool model of a cool car, and I don’t have to worry about the hybrid drivetrain throwing a temper tantrum and sending the car back to the dealership.
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