• Tag Archives Super Cars

  • McLaren Artura Hybrid Supercar to Debut in 2021

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    McLaren introduced its new Artura hybrid supercar, but provided only scant details.

    McLaren has offered up a new name for, and more details about, the hybrid supercar it plans to bring to market next year.

    Like competitors such as Aston Martin and Ferrari, McLaren wants to take advantage of the incredible, off-the-line torque that electric motors can deliver. It has already toyed with the advantages hybrid drivetrains can deliver with the limited-run P1 and Speedtail models. The McLaren Artura would be its first series version.

    Designed to replace the current Super Series, the new hybrid will pair the electric drive system with a twin-turbo V-6. That engine will be smaller than what’s on the existing line and is widely expected to come in with a displacement of around three liters.

    (McLaren eyeing synthetic fuels for future models.)

    The Artura, meanwhile, is expected to provide some electric-only drive capabilities, though they would likely be limited. McLaren has so far not indicated any plans to add a plug-in hybrid to its line-up but may need to eventually.

    The Artura builds on what the company gleaned from the development of the Supertail.

    A number of markets are now enacting new limits on the use of internal combustion engines. That includes the automaker’s home market, the UK banning vehicles solely powered by IC engines as of 2030, and all hybrids by 2035.

    McLaren isn’t offering any hard details on power or performance but there seems little reason to believe it would launch a hybrid model that couldn’t at least match the 563 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque currently produced by its 570S model.

    There would be the advantage of the instant torque that electric motors can deliver, but there’s also the reality that a hybrid drive system will add to the car’s weight.

    (McLaren taking orders for new supercar.)

    In a statement, McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt said the product development team is taking multiple steps to minimize that extra mass. “Every element of the Artura is all-new – from the platform architecture and every part of the High-Performance Hybrid powertrain, to the exterior body, interior and cutting-edge driver interface – but it draws on decades of McLaren experience in pioneering super-lightweight race and road car technologies to bring all of our expertise in electrification to the supercar class.”

    The P1TM hypercar was the starting point for the Artura.

    Another unanswered question is how many motors the McLaren Artura will feature. It may launch with a single motor in a rear-wheel-drive configuration but, if current practices hold, it’s expected to offer even higher-performance versions that would add another motor on the front axle.

    Facing the new wave of government mandates, the auto industry is ramping up its collective electrification efforts. That’s particularly true in the exotic and performance segments where there are few other alternatives available.

    (McLaren shows us the light – light weight – with new 765LT.)

    Aston Martin is already working on a hybridized replacement for its Valkyrie line and recently announced plans to work with Mercedes to offer electric drivetrain technology in other product lines. The Mercedes-AMG performance line will be hybridizing and Maserati has plans for an all-electric version of its MC20 supercar. Even Ferrari is getting into the battery-car game. The SF90 Stradale is its first street-legal plug-in hybrid and it has announced plans to have a pure battery-electric model in its line-up by around 2025.


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  • Mercedes-AMG Project One Hypercar Caught Testing

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    The Mercedes-AMG Project One, the hypercard based on F1 technology, is inching closer to its release date.

    We’re still waiting to find out more about the Mercedes-AMG Project One – as in how much more than 1,000 horsepower the hybrid hypercar’s Formula One-derived powertrain will be able to punch out.

    For now, we’ll have to settle for rudimentary details and know that whatever the final figure comes in at, the next special edition developed specifically by and for AMG will be obscenely quick, somewhere in the 2 second 0-to-60 range, with a top speed expected to reach 350 km/h, or about 220 miles per hour.

    First unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show and originally intended to hit the road late last year, part of the celebration of AMG’s 50th anniversary, the project fell behind schedule and appears to have been further delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Exactly when it will now be unveiled is still unclear though the automaker hints that with the “final” version of the drivetrain now being put through its paces, it is “ever closer to production.”

    (Mercedes-AMG Project One hypercar caught track testing.)

    Why is it taking so long? There’s no question this is the most complicated project ever undertaken by AMG, especially from a powertrain perspective.

    First unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show and originally intended to hit the road late last year, the Project One has been delayed a few times.

    “The adaptation of a complete Formula1 drive unit for a road-legal hypercar is a tremendous undertaking,” the German performance brand said in a release accompanying this images of the Project One in testing

    “This adaption will result in new standards being set for performance in a road-going vehicle,” no easy trick trying to balance its track heritage with the need to ensure it can handle day-to-day driving duties that will likely include spells caught in traffic.

    The drivetrain stays close to the current F1 equation, starting out with a single-turbo 1.6-liter V-6 that is closely related to what Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton sits in front of in his own race car – though it revs to “only” about 11,000 RPMs due to the difference between track and street fuels. According to some early reports, the engine is still expected to turn out more than 600 horsepower, or an astounding 375 hp per liter.

    The hypercar pairs the internal combustion engine with four electric motors, two on the front axle, another on the rear. Don’t worry about the math. The fourth motor is built into that turbocharger and eliminates traditional turbolag since it doesn’t have to wait for exhaust gases to build up and spin its impeller

    The Project One hypercar races from 0-to-60 mph in about 2 seconds, hitting a top speed of about 220 mph.

    blades.

    (Mercedes-AMG Project One takes F1 onto the streets.)

    Dubbed an MGU-h, or motor generator unit-heat, it makes about 80 kilowatts and can rev up to a screaming 100,000 RPMs. The primary motors are believed to produce about 120 kW each, or something on the order of a collective 482 hp.

    Each of the driving motors has its own single-speed gearbox and the front units can be varied in speed, slightly trimming power to one side or the other to help torque vector, or steer into a turn.

    That was among the many technical challenges facing engineers working on the Mercedes-AMG Project One, notes the automaker.

    Mercedes-AMG built the Project One to mark AMG’s 50th anniversary, but there is no finish date.

    “In many aspects, such as noise level, the development team ventured into uncharted territory with this project, working with great tenacity and exceptional engineering expertise to find solutions that could be developed to production maturity.”

    Another challenge was working out the complexities of the hypercars active aerodynamic technology, from front louvers to the big rear spoiler.

    (Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 is the everyday driver you can take to the track.)

    Work has continued at both the AMG development center in Affalterbach, as well as at the Mercedes test track in Immendingen. With the program seemingly accelerating and near production-ready prototypes now being tested, the automaker confirmed it “will soon be tested on the north loop of the Nurburgring” from where we imagine plenty of additional pics will start appearing.


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