The McLaren portfolio for India will have four exciting models initially
Months after rumors suggesting the same surfaced online, British Supercar maker McLaren has now confirmed its India entry and has also thrown light on its domestic portfolio. The official configurator site now lists India as a region and the marque is soon hoped to reveal the prices as well. McLaren has also appointed Infinity Group as their dealer partner for India, envisioning better brand outreach and after-sales care in the days to come. Sources suggest that the official brand launch and price announcement will commence this week.
McLaren Portfolio For India
As per the latest information, McLaren India will start its operations with a four-model portfolio. The carmaker will bring in four of its highly accepted cars to India- the GT, 720S, 720S Spyder and the Artura.
McLaren GT
The GT will be the entry- ticket to the McLaren lineup in India, targeting an aspirational owner who would want his McLaren to be a comfortable road car in which he could do road trips and daily runs comfortably. The McLaren GT is a more road-biased and softer offering as compared to the other track focused, brutally fast models. The GT is a mid-engine supercar with a 4L twin turbo engine producing 620hp and 630Nm, as its heart. 0-100kmph comes in just 3.2 seconds and the car has a top speed of 326 kph! Ferrari Roma, Bentley Continental GT and a few specs of the Porsche 911 could be considered the rivals of this car.
McLaren 720S
The McLaren 720S is essentially the 650S replacement that had debuted at Geneva in 2017. A part of McLaren’s modern-day supercar family, the 720S is available both as a coupe and a spyder. Both these iterations will make their way to India soon. The supercar will have a 4.0L twin-turbo unit producing 720 hp and 770 Nm at its heart, and would do the 0-100 kph run in a flat 2.9 seconds! The top speed of the 720S is an eye-popping 341 kph!
The 720S Spyder, as the name indicates, is a convertible, the roof of which takes just 11 seconds to fold up or fold down. It can be operated at speeds of up to 50 km/h as well. Upon launch, the McLaren 720S will battle the likes of Lamborghini Huracan and Ferrari F8 Tributo.
McLaren Artura
The Artura is a recent addition to the McLaren family. It was in February this year, that this hybrid supercar had made its global debut. The Artura has proved itself to be a supercar slayer ever since and has a handful of major advantages over the likes of 720S. The key talking point here would be the new platform that the car is built on. Unlike the 720S or any previous McLarens, the Artura is underpinned by McLaren’s new-age MCLA Carbon Fiber monocoque platform that stands out for being light, thanks to the extensive use of Aluminium crash beams and an Aluminium rear subframe.
The powerhouse here is a hybrid unit comprising a 3.0L twin-turbo V6 (NOT a V8!) and an electric motor mated to a 7.4 kWh battery pack. The V6 alone can churn out 585hp while the motor can contribute a good 95 hp, taking the overall output to 680hp! 0-100 comes in just 3 seconds and the top speed is a good 330 kmph!
Even with the hybrid system in place, the Artura is just 27 kilograms heavier than the 720S. This weight advantage does a great deal in ensuring the breath-taking performance that this car has. On a more interesting note, the Artura even has an electric-only range of 30 kilometers!
McLaren Cars In India (Imported Via Carnet)
McLaren as such is not an absolute newbie in the country. There are a few units already on our roads, all of which were originally brought in as imports. The first of these, a 720S, was brought into the country by Ranjit Sundaramutrthy (RSM Spec) of Bangalore. Later Gautam Singhania bought three of them- 720S, 570S, and the exciting Senna! Parveen Agarwal of Kolkata also owns a McLaren 570S.
