The 2020s have warmed up this week with the unveiling of two opposing supercars, one pushing the combustion era to new heights and the other a bold step towards an electrified future. Incredibly, for all their differences, they are still competitors
What a struggle we have at hand. It is the old school versus the new order in which promises to be a titanic waste that will only happen in this era. In the blue corner the champion prize fighter, the famous quantity and the established fanbase’s hero, while in the red corner a new challenger appeared, a little heavier and with an even stronger blow aided by clever technology . This is the new kid and needs to prove himself, but he has all the tools to pick up the champion.
Coincidence brought the releases of the 992-era Porsche 911 GT3 and the McLaren Artura together on the same day, but it is exactly the opposite that created them so differently. Porsche deliberately – after a fair number of tug-of-war in the council chamber – remained true to the formula he had mastered alone: rear-wheel drive, a rear-wheel drive and an enchanting flat six with a ceiling of 9000 rpm. There is not a bit of electric drive or ecological conscience, and the buyers like it.
Conversely, McLaren threw his own rulebook out the window, pulled a flamethrower out of the barn, and slammed into the ashes. The Artura has a new chassis, a brand new engine, a new component-electric driveway and accessories, a trendy interior and of course a new model name. The starting price is almost £ 60,000 more than the GT3s, and it’s much more complicated in some ways, but the customer base will overlap the Porsche’s to some extent.
This is not a normal period for the industry; it is quite extraordinary. At no other time in history can you find such a glorious dichotomy as when one technology completely replaces another with what electric power will do to internal fires. Just as horses have become animals of relaxation, not working, indoor burning will be burned as a hobby by those with the means. If that happens, there will be a whole different lens to see in the 2020s, but now, as the market begins to spread its efforts to almost all of its myriad angles, we are offered incredible contrasts.
Take the 911’s fairly simple mechanical and chassis adjustments that take a phenomenal 17 seconds more out of the 20.6km long Nurburgring lap compared to the old one. The move to the motorsport-type dual-wheel suspension at the front, which adds the width and GTE-inspired aero features, has made a significant difference without changing the formula that the press as well as customers love so much. It must be a wonderful thing; furiously aggressive and powerful electrically without ever engaging, and with a rich legacy that stretches into the mid-20th century.
The Artura’s brand new 120 degree V6, built to be as compact as possible when all the extra parts like turbos, transmission and exhaust are added, is the opposite. Brand new, with an unusual and rarely built V-angle and deliberate focus on hybridization, these are many things that the GT3’s flat-six is not. About the only thing they share is the cylinder count. For your extra £ 60,000, however, the McLaren gives you a significantly more powerful internal combustion engine despite having a full liter of cubic capacity.
This is even before you charge the electric assistance. All of a sudden the national champion starts to look very good like 168 hp and a big torque through the midfield. In what sounds like another little miracle from the Woking brand, the Artura is also only 60 kg heavier than the Porsche. Consider our gobs beaten on one.
The GT3 contains a pure analog ICE adrenaline in salable form. You can get it with a manual gearbox, it will turn 9000 rpm over and over again without banging, it will crush the laps of a given circuit until the tires need to be replaced, and like previous GT3s, it will also be easy to live with. proper enthusiast and want to use it every day. It is the best hand-motorsport that can build people reliably for the road at a price that enough people will pay.
The Artura is a hell of a way for McLaren to enter into its new reality. More power than the terrifyingly fast 650S of not so long ago, the ability to sail 18 kilometers on electric power and a hybrid setup designed for as much as emissions, it’s a miniature P1 for less than a fifth of the cost. That it was unveiled on the same day as the 992 GT3 is remarkable; that it exists at the same time in history to achieve the same everyday supercar goals in the same broad way is proof of the enormous flood condition that the automotive industry is experiencing.
There is a fierce battle between the GT3 and Artura, despite the clear performance bias in the McLaren’s favor. In more ways than one, it’s a battle the GT3 cannot win, but we hope nonetheless with every fiber in our being that someone will finally bring them together for the fighting we all want to see. We suspect it depends on the tester which of these two legends comes out on top on their own time, but when it comes to ten months to summarize CT’s highlights of 2021, we know we’ll talk about both.