McLaren is having its best Formula 1 season in nearly 20 years, and looks like a good bet to win both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships this year, an impressive feat to say the least. McLaren’s star drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have been burning up the F1 circuits, racking up 10 podiums each in the first 12 races of the season, with five wins for Piastri and four for Norris, including the Monaco Grand Prix. Beyond the mere entertainment factor, and even the boost to the brand’s stature and reputation however, there is a very real benefit to winning that translates to better road-going supercars from the McLaren Automotive—and that’s more apparent than ever with the new McLaren Artura Spider.
The $280,000 super convertible is a revolutionary open-topped version of the glorious coupé that made headlines when it debuted in 2022 as the marque’s first-ever High-Performance Hybrid (HPH) Supercar. Perhaps more than any other manufacturer, McLaren leverages its F1 mastery in myriad ways to benefit its road car division, and never compromises when it comes to making drop-dead gorgeous rolling sculptures of speed.
McLaren has been winning Formula 1 races since the 1960s, and application of decades of accumulated expertise literally blew the automotive world away when they debuted their first-ever road car, the aptly-named McLaren F1, in 1992. This also paved the way for the birth of McLaren Automotive nearly 20 years later, which was an immediate and smashing success.
Widely considered to be the world’s first hypercar, and still renowned for its groundbreaking engineering over 30 years later, F1’s now fetch around $20 million at auction. And since then every McLaren road car—current regular production began with the MP4-12C in 2011—has had a direct line to F1 coursing through its valves. And new ownership and leadership is ensuring the brand continues to thrive in all realms.
“McLaren holds a unique position in that we are a racing company that also makes road cars, and not the other way around,” Roger Ormisher, the marque’s Vice President of Brand and Communications, tells us. “The brand’s storied racing heritage features an enormous amount of triumph, including winning our 9th Constructor’s Championship in the 2024 season, and a hugely successful 2025 season to-date. But we’re not only winning on the track—the McLaren Artura has won a variety of accolades over the past year, and owners get the benefit of having F1-derived technology in their road-going cars.”
Key points of this exchange include a carbon fibre monocoque, carbon brakes, and caliper-mounted brake cooling ducts. “Combined with a 3.0-liter V6 engine with 680 hp (690 bhp) and the thrill of open-air motoring that the Artura Spider provides,” Ormisher remarks, “it’s never been easier to emulate your favorite F1 driver.” And do it in impeccable style.
Then there is the HOTAS (Hands On Throttle-And-Stick) system. “Although the name directly references aircraft control systems, Artura Spider features a HOTAS-inspired driver-zone binnacle with fingertip selectors for handling and powertrain modes, which also thematically reflects the cockpit ergonomics of F1 cars,” the brand notes.
McLaren states that the Artura Spider represents a dramatic increase in power, performance, “emotionality” and driver engagement over the original Artura, something that we were able to put to the test at the model’s global launch in Monaco. Setting out from McLaren’s temporary HQ at the ultra-posh Maybourne Riviera hotel, we felt that the car could not have been more in its element. Open-topped motoring in a supercar in Monaco is something that every true enthusiast should aspire to. Make it a McLaren and you’re in for a experience you’ll never forget.
The Artura Spider’s hybrid powertrain is ideally suited for the type of driving we did on the glorious slice of the South of France. Lower speed, nearly silent cruising in EV mode was perfect for the famously labyrinth streets of the principality itself. And when we got up into the hills above it was time for a fiercer approach, accomplished with a flick of an F1-style switch. Then it was time to experience the sheer thrill of hitting 0-60 in 3 seconds; we would have needed a racetrack to rocket to the top speed of 205 mph, but McLaren doesn’t make cars that go slower than that, as we’ve had pleasure to confirm in the past.
As with all McLarens, the marque’s MSO branch, for McLaren Special Operations, can make any client’s car into a one-of-a-kind, 007-worthy creation. From its beginnings adding custom finishes, MSO now has the ability to do anything from a bespoke paint job all the way up to one-off limited editions. MSO was founded to maintain the iconic F1 as the 1990s superstar evolved into a museum-worthy showpiece; McLaren being McLaren, it also wanted to ensure the cars would remain competitive and stay on the road.
The launch of the Artura Spider came on the heels of one of the most successful quarters in the history of McLaren Automotive. At the same time, the company completed a capital restructuring process, and is now owned by one shareholder with one class of share, Abu Dhabi-based investment firm CYVN Holdings, which also acquired a a non-controlling stake in McLaren’s racing division.
The makes for both a leaner, simpler governance structure and a funding platform for investing in the future, all under a new entity named McLaren Group Holdings (MGH). The shift is already being felt, with longtime industry exec Nick Collins tapped to lead both MGH and McLaren Automotive earlier this year, replacing Michael Leiters.
There have been other appointments as well, including a new Chief Creative Officer, Alister Whelan, and Torsten Müller-Ötvös, former CEO of Rolls-Royce, who has joined McLaren’s non-executive board. Nor are they resting on their laurels; this summer the marque announced it will return to endurance racing at Le Mans in 2027, and debuted to the public the most recent successor to the F1, dubbed the W1, at the UK’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Only 399 exampled of the $2.1 million hypercar, itself a beneficiary of Formula 1 technology and track time, are being made, and all have been spoken for. With a whopping 1,258 horsepower, twin-turbo V8 hybrid engine—more horses than the Koenigsegg Jesko and Lamborghini Reveulto—it’s the most powerful road-legal McLaren ever.