Like many exotic brands that built empires on powerful combustion engines, McLaren Automotive now finds itself idling at a crossroad.
McLaren is adapting to a new environmentally conscious era, where gas-guzzling V-12s are viewed as anachronisms. The British marque seeks to transition to a 100 percent electrified portfolio by 2026, with the first full-electric model expected by the end of the decade.
In November, McLaren expects to begin deliveries of a new plug-in hybrid model — the Artura, a $229,500-plus hypercar at the vanguard of a wave of McLarens that sacrifice emissions, not performance. It is the first vehicle on the company's carbon lightweight architecture, the first McLaren to feature a V-6 engine and the first model to offer a batch of advanced driver-assistance technology.
Most of McLaren's launches that follow will be plug-in hybrids.