2025 McLaren Artura Spider: Next-Gen Hybrid Powertrain, Ethernet Electrical Architecture & New Braking Upgrades

2025 McLaren Artura Spider Summary Points

  • The 2025 McLaren Artura Spider is the British automaker’s first convertible hybrid supercar.

  • Based on the Artura Coupe’s lightweight carbon architecture, the Spider is among the industry’s lightest convertible supercars, boasting a 3,439 lbs. curb weight.

  • The 2025 McLaren Artura Spider offers 19 more horsepower from its turbocharged V6, but existing Artura Coupe owners are eligible for the performance upgrade at no extra cost.
  • “We have upgraded the powertrain and the chassis systems to deliver more power, more dynamic performance, and even higher levels of connection with the driver – without any compromise in everyday driving,” ~ Michael Leiters, CEO, McLaren Automotive.

2025 McLaren Artura Spider: What’s New?

The McLaren Artura Spider is all-new for the 2025 model year and is hot on the heels of its Artura Coupe sibling that launched in 2021. It’s the brand’s first hybrid convertible supercar and has many improvements and upgrades over the already-stellar Artura Coupe.

The most noticeable change is the Spider’s single-piece retractable hardtop roof, a cacophony of carbon fiber and composite materials, eight electric motors, and an optional electrochromic panel that utilizes Suspended Particle technology to keep the cockpit cool. The roof will raise or lower in 11 seconds at speeds up to 31 mph.

Road sign recognition and lane departure warning are standard for the 2025 McLaren Artura Spider, while a blindspot monitor, adaptive cruise control, and cross-traffic detection are optional.

2025 McLaren Artura Spider.
Photo: McLaren Automotive.

Recalibrated Hybrid V6 Powertrain

McLaren engineers tinkered with the Artura’s next-generation hybrid powertrain. They unlocked 19 more horsepower from the twin-turbocharged V6 gas engine, which now produces 690 horsepower. The torque figure remains unchanged at 531 lb-ft. The horsepower upgrades are not strictly for the Artura Spider since the changes apply to existing Artura Coupe owners.

McLaren said most of the added horses are evident in the 4,000 to 8,500 rpm range, with the climbing rev needle accompanied by a “crescendo” of engine sounds and exhaust notes, made more noticeable with the roof or rear window lowered.

Meanwhile, the hybrid part remains unchanged, consisting of a 7.4 kWh battery and a compact axial flux E-motor that contributes 94 horsepower and 166 lb-ft. of torque, all in a lightweight package not exceeding 287 lbs.

All that twist routes exclusively to the rear wheels using an optimized eight-speed automatic gearbox with an electronic differential (E-diff) that varies the torque distribution across the rear axle. The transmission features a nested clutch (versus a parallel clutch), a close-ratio gear cluster (the length of the gear cluster was reduced by 1.6 inches), and a pre-fill gear engagement feature that results in 25 percent faster gear changes.

The Artura Spider could run silently for 21 miles using all-electric power, up from the Artura Coupe’s 19 miles of electric range.

How Fast Is The 2025 McLaren Artura Spider?

The most exciting part about the McLaren Artura Spider is it scoots just as fast as the Artura Coupe despite having a retractable hardtop roof. McLaren claims zero to 62 mph in three seconds and zero to 124 mph in 8.4 seconds. The sprint from zero to 186 mph takes 21.6 seconds.

Debuting for the 2025 McLaren Artura Spider is a new “Spinning Wheel Pull-Away” feature that adds billows of tire smoke when blasting away from a stop. Both the Artura Coupe and Spider share the same top speed of 205 mph.

2025 McLaren Artura Spider.
The 3.0-liter M630 dry-sump aluminum gasoline V6 weighs 353 lbs., over 100 lbs. less than a McLaren V8. Key features include a 120-degree V-angle design, a stiffer crankshaft for a rev limit of 8,500 rpm, and twin turbos that live within the “hot vee” position to improve throttle response. Photo: McLaren Automotive.

Ethernet Electrical Architecture

When the Artura Coupe launched in 2021, we called it the goalpost of hybrid supercars. This has to do with the car’s aluminum and carbon fiber monocoque frame, hybrid powertrain, and unique ethernet electrical architecture, which reduces cabling by 25 percent, significantly improving data capacity and data transfer speeds while reducing weight.

The ethernet-based electronics trickle down to the suspension, which now has an enhanced Domain Control Unit (DCU) that controls the Monroe-sourced Proactive Damping Control System. The result is a 90 percent improvement in damping and handling response rates in Comfort, Sport, and Track driving modes.

Likewise, the Pirelli Cyber P Zero tires are part of the car’s connected architecture. Each tire has sensors that generate real-time data that enables drivers to maximize the tire’s potential.

Meanwhile, the anchors are carbon ceramic discs with aluminum calipers and new brake cooling ducts. The braking system works in combination with rear-axle kinematics and the revised engine and damping response rates to extend disc and pad life under more demanding track conditions. With revised ABS calibration, stopping distances for the Artura Spider are 62 mph to zero in 102 feet and 124 mph to zero in 407 feet.

Exhilarating Design

The 2025 McLaren Artura Spider has a reworked rear end with shapelier buttresses, aerothermal ducting systems, and a heated rear screen that raises or lowers at the touch of a button. Despite the changes, the Spider is unmistakably a McLaren Artura with its “shrink-wrapped” body styling, headlight air intakes, and hammerhead-inspired nose.

Inside the cabin are standard Clubsport seats (electric heated comfort seats with memory are a no-cost option) and McLaren’s MIS II infotainment system with dual high-definition screens, a five-speaker audio system, and a button-free steering wheel.

2025 McLaren Artura Spider.
The 2025 Artura Spider debuts a new aerothermal cooling system to cool the powertrain, enable better storage of the hardtop roof, and reduce air-buffeting. The aerothermal design has four separate ducting systems, distinguished from the Coupe by the two rear deck inlets situated on the outer sections of the one-piece aluminum hot-formed upper rear bodywork. These contain both cooling inlets for the powertrain and roof storage area, plus an outlet for hot air. Between these is the “powertrain chimney,” along with inlets and outlets for airflow management. Photo: McLaren Automotive.

2025 McLaren Artura Spider Warranty

The 2025 McLaren Artura Spider leaves the Woking factory in Surrey, England, with a five-year/unlimited mileage bumper-to-bumper warranty, a six-year/45,000-mile battery warranty, and a 10-year anti-perforation warranty. The package includes three years of vehicle servicing and five years of roadside assistance.

2025 McLaren Artura Spider Starting MSRP

The 2025 McLaren Artura Spider starts at $273,800, a handsome uptick over the Coupe’s $225,000 base price. The options include three interior specifications (Performance, TechLux, and Vision), each costing $9,400.

The Artura Spider is available in five standard body colors, 20 Elite paint hues, and up to 18 bespoke colors from McLaren’s MSO customization department.

If you want to dig deeper into the world of McLaren, take a listen to this Cars Yeah podcast episode where host Mark Greene interviews Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing.  

Alvin Reyes is an Automoblog feature columnist and an expert in sports and performance cars. He studied civil aviation, aeronautics, and accountancy in his younger years and is still very much smitten to his former Lancer GSR and Galant SS. He also likes fried chicken, music, and herbal medicine.

Photos & Source: McLaren Automotive.