The McLaren Artura Spider is Roofless and Ruthless

McLaren giveth and McLaren taketh away. In the case of the Artura Spider the British supercar brand giveth more power and taketh away the roof. There’s also an array of additional upgrades over the original Artura for “even greater driver engagement.”

The combination of a three-liter twin-turbo V-6 and an axial flux e-motor now produces 700 hp, up by 20 horses. ICE contributes 605 hp at 7500 rpm with electrons making up the remaining 95 hp and delivering instant response and torque infill during gearshifts. The eight-speed gearbox has also been reworked to shift 25 percent faster than before thanks to a pre-fill feature that pressurizes the hydraulic fluid to what McLaren calls the “kiss point”.

With launch control activated the Artura Spider can hit 62 mph from a standstill in three seconds, 124 mph in 8.4 seconds and 186 mph in 21.6 seconds. Top speed is 205 mph. Alternatively drivers can now use the Cars and Coffee exit “Spinning Wheel Pull-Away” feature to leave elevens and a cloud of tire smoke behind. Hmm.

There’s more aural drama to accompany such antics with a new valved exhaust system complete with a tuned resonator. “This provides a ‘cleaner’ sound that envelops the occupants,” says McLaren. An optional sports exhaust is available that also channels sound into the cabin.

Updates to the cars dynamics come courtesy of revised powertrain mounts and modified valving for the Proactive Damping Control system supplied by Monroe. The speed of response offered by the dampers has been increased by 90 percent with some electronic wizardry involving the ethernet architecture and this is said to improve reaction to driver inputs and changes in the road surface.

Carbon ceramic disc brakes are standard and the ABS system has been recalibrated to significantly improve stopping distances. Tires are Pirelli P Zeros and Pirelli’s CyberTyre technology provides a stream of data that allows the driver to adjust pressure limits for maximum performance.

Now to what’s been removed. In place of the Artura coupe’ fixed roof is a carbon fiber retractable hard top, which is also available with an electrochromatic glass panel. It takes 11 seconds to raise or lower the roof at speeds of up to 31 mph. The windscreen surround is subtly redesigned to include small gurneys to reduce cabin buffeting, while the buttresses a more sculpted than the coupe’s and glazed in motorsport-inspired polycarbonate. There’s a 137-lb weight penalty, but the Artura Spider is still a comparative lightweight at 3439 lbs.

McLaren has opted for minimalism inside so the steering wheel is free of buttons, aside from the paddle shifters. Drive and handling mode switches are on the instrument binnacle which adjusts with the steering wheel. A central display takes care of other key features, such as smart phone mirroring and an array of new driver assists from road sign recognition to adaptive cruise control.

Prices start at $273,800, but with a wide range of options from titanium wheel bolts to more than 40 colors it will be very easy to add to that total, as you can discover on the configurator.

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