For those of you who dreamed of owning a McLaren, we got some good news. The British giant automaker and Formula One giant have confirmed their arrival in India. The company is set to officially open its first dealership in Mumbai, in October.   

While the details of the dealership are yet unclear, McLaren did confirm that it’ll be bringing the McLaren GT, high-performance hybrid-Artura, 600LT, 720S coupe and spider and the 765LT as its initial few offerings. The company will provide customers with all levels of support, sales, aftersales and servicing on the entire range of McLaren models in-house.   

A statement released by the company read, “We welcome Lalit Choudary of McLaren Mumbai to the expanding retailer network here in the Asia Pacific region. India remains an important market where our fans and select clientele can enjoy the best of McLaren in Mumbai. Looking ahead, we will shortly welcome the Artura to India, the all-new high-performance hybrid supercar.”  

Speaking of the Artura, McLaren launched it internationally back in February of 2021. It follows in the succession of the legendary P1 and the Speedtail, which were also the company’s first-ever series-production hybrid supercars. However, unlike the two, the Artura is built upon the company’s new platform called the ‘McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA),’ which helps the car in tipping the scale at just 1,395kg.   

Packing an all-new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine, which works in tandem with a plug-in hybrid motor, the supercar belts out 680PS of power and 720Nm of torque. Mated to an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, the Artura can sprint from 0-100kmph in 3 seconds, with an electronically limited top speed of 330kmph.   

Since it’s a plug-in hybrid, the car can run on just electric power, thanks to its 7.4kWh capacity battery pack, which allows for a range of 30km. However, it should be noted that its primary purpose is to boost the supercar’s performance. In terms of charging, McLaren claims the Artura can be topped up to 80 per cent in just 2.5 hours.   

McLaren’s debut doesn’t come as a surprise, considering the rise of the popularity of luxury vehicles in India in the post-pandemic years. What now remains to be seen is what the company can do differently to weaken the foothold which is already established by brands like Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Lamborghini and more.