What should current Artura owners think of this? Largely, I think they should rejoice because the exciting part, that extra 20bhp, will be bequeathed upon their car too the very next time it visits a dealership. So you will drive in with a 671bhp Artura, and drive out with a 691bhp Artura, or 700PS as McLaren likes to call it. The price?No pounds and no pence.
Talking of progress, one of the greatest advances made by McLaren Automotive during the 13 years in which it has been selling cars is in its infotainment system and we should not underestimate just how important a component of the buying decision this can be.
From the early MP4-12Cs that were delivered with navigation controls but no actual navigation, to McLaren’s dreadful home-grown IRIS system, to the better but not brilliant Android-based system that replaced it, to what we have in the Artura today – fully functioning Apple CarPlay – the transformation has been extraordinary.
And while you might rightly point out that CarPlay is now available in some of the cheapest cars on sale, to climb into something as exotic as this and for it to just work exactly the way you want it to is an absolute godsend.
And anyone who has ever spent time wrestling with the hideously clunky systems that have so often been fitted in the cabins of genuine low-volume supercars will know of what I speak.
Meanwhile, for those waiting for it to go wrong, your ordeal continues. I will concede that the range display is almost meaningless after one fill, it briefly suggested I could go 1285 miles on that tank, which I think would mean averaging something like 80mpg-but I can remember the 720S I ran a while back doing exactly the same.
I know they all do that, sir is the lamest excuse, but in the interests of accuracy, it’s worth pointing out. Of course, when I came to photograph this nonsense to illustrate my point, it flashed up an entirely plausible 285 miles. Other faults or quirks?
One morning when the car was frozen solid, it took a bit of a yank to open a door because the window momentarily refused to drop. But beyond that, I’m really struggling.