Key Takeaways
- McLaren is focusing on the current Artura Spider and Coupe updates before considering a Longtail variant.
- The updated 2025 Artura Coupe features enhanced power, quicker gearchanges, and better suspension inherited from Artura Spider development.
- McLaren is cautious about customer demands and market changes, and won’t commit to an Artura Longtail unless there’s a real place for it.
After a troubled start to life, the McLaren Artura has hit its stride, and for the 2025 model year, the Coupe is getting a major update to coincide with the new Artura Spider. But while we hate to detract from the new kid on the block being absolutely phenomenal to drive, as cardholding gearheads, we’re wondering when, if ever, McLaren plans on introducing a Longtail variant. That was the question we asked Artura Programme Manager Michael Norrington at the launch of the Artura Spider in Monaco, but the answer we got wasn’t a straightforward yes or no.
A Platform Capable Of More Than We’ve Seen
“It’s easy to make a supercar faster,” says Norrington “but is it what the market wants, and is the addition of speed adding to the experience or not? I could take the Artura and give it more downforce tomorrow (a staple of the Longtail cars), but will that make it a better experience?”
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Naturally, the McLaren team’s focus is on successfully bringing the new Artura Spider to market and rolling out the updated Artura Coupe with it. The Coupe benefits from a slew of updates, like a 19-horsepower boost, quicker gear changes, and even better suspension and chassis tuning, made possible by the ethernet electrical architecture at the core of the Artura platform. Almost all of these changes have been effected without the need for major overhauls to the Artura’s base systems, but according to Norrington, the platform is capable of far more.
“Will we bring an Artura Longtail to market? There are too many variables to make a concrete statement on that, but what I can tell you is that we’re not at the limits of what the platform can endure, engineering-wise.”
The Pace Of Automotive Development At Odds With Changing Consumer Expectations
So, the opportunity is there, but what’s standing in the way? For one, Norrington says that McLaren wants to bring out the cars its customers want and that it needs to be sure there’s a market for such a car. If buyers don’t want an Artura Longtail, then it would be a waste of resources to develop one. He highlights an interesting point though, and that’s how quickly consumer demands are changing in a digital age. “We’re seeing demands change rapidly, and we don’t want to respond to a spur-of-the-moment fad and spend two years developing a car when the market moves past it,” he says.
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Developing a car, even an evolution of an existing platform, isn’t a quick thing to do. Launching something that is wholly developed, reliable, delivers on customer expectations, and stays true to the brand’s goals without compromising for the sake of a quick buck requires careful consideration. With McLaren firming up its identity with every new model it launches, we’re glad to see it isn’t making rash decisions, but this author would be lying if they said the idea of an Artura Longtail wasn’t tantalizing. While the Artura is now a genuine supercar, the ‘Sports Series’ that preceded it spawned the 600LT, which was one of the finest junior supercars we’ve ever experienced.
That said, the Artura has a 100-hp advantage over the 600LT and outguns it in nearly every performance metric. Would making it stiffer and even faster really be of any benefit? With the Artura being as close as it is in performance to the 750S, maybe the senior supercar is the better candidate for the Longtail treatment. Time will tell.
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