McLaren Plugin Cars

The McLaren Artura is here, and with it comes a lot of firsts for McLaren. It’s the first plug-in hybrid McLaren, even though it counts as McLaren’s third hybrid model behind the P1 and the Speedtail. It’s also the first McLaren to use the freshly developed 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine, put in place of the bigger and heavier 3.8-liter V-8 unit that McLaren has used for its Sports Series models in recent years.

The Artura is also the first McLaren hybrid supercar that’s built on the automaker’s new MCLA platform. It’s the same architecture the British automaker developed to accommodate electrified powertrains. The Artura’s arrival sets the stage for McLaren’s electrified future that now looks a lot more compelling.

The McLaren GT was introduced in 2019, and we know for sure that the mule we see here is, in fact, a McLaren GT. Be that as it may, it was caught in a residential neighborhood in France by a friend of Topspeed, and it certainly raises a few questions. First, why is there a camouflaged McLaren GT cruising around France? Second, why was it parked outside a residential area? Third, why do the wheels have “Dyn Wheel” written all over them? Well, we think that McLaren might be testing its new V-6 hybrid drivetrain.