| Pros | Cons |
| ✓ Linear (and crazy quick) acceleration | ☓ V6 engine doesn’t quite sound the part |
| ✓ Head-turning charisma | ☓ Lackluster electric-only driving range |
| ✓ Telepathic steering/handling capability | ☓ Pack on options, and the Artura gets eye-wateringly expensive |
| ✓ Surprisingly comfortable |
2025 McLaren Artura Spider Overview: Come on, a purple convertible McLaren? You’re going to have fun.
In more than a decade of McLaren’s modern era since the 12C, we’ve seen a plethora of supercars from the automaker packing mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged V8s. The Artura broke away from that tradition for the 2023 model year, packing a V6 engine as part of a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Now, for 2025, McLaren is bringing us a Spider version, so you can feel the wind in your hair as you unleash 690 horsepower and charge from 0-60 in 3 seconds.
Apart from the Artura lineup now having a drop-top variant (more on that experience in a moment), that horsepower figure rises from 671 available in previous years. Torque from the 3.0-liter twin-turbo plug-in hybrid remains the same as before, firing 531 lb-ft at the rear wheels. For this model year, McLaren engineers tweaked the Artura’s adaptive suspension settings for both the coupe and the convertible, tweaked the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission for faster shifts, modified the exhaust note with the optional sport exhaust sending its sounds directly into the cabin, and introduced a new ‘Spinning Wheel Pull-Away’ mode that allows you to do some fat smokey burnouts when you want to show off. At 3,439 pounds, the curb weight for the Spider weighs 136 pounds more than the coupe — certainly not enough to hurt its day-to-day performance in any meaningful way.
The real star of the show for the Artura Spider, though, is that retractable roof. Being able to drop the top for that wind-in-the-hair experience is a plus, to be sure, and the Artura’s carbon fiber tub means you won’t feel any added wobbliness in the car’s structure whatsoever. The added party trick is an optional electrochromic glass roof panel, allowing you to switch between clear and dark blue at the press of a button while the roof’s still in place. So, McLaren offers up a roof-down option as well as a cool feature when you want a more coupe-like drive, provided you’re willing to fork out $9,400 for that supplemental glass feature.
Oh, we’ll get to options later, don’t you worry…if you’re curious before venturing any further, though, the 2025 McLaren Artura Spider’s base price is $278,800 including shipping and port handling charges to bring it over from the UK. That’s about $24,300 more than the coupe.
Driving the Artura Spider is remarkably straightforward…and stunningly fast.
While some folks might duck out at first mention of the words “hybrid” or “V6”, they’re doing themselves a serious disservice by writing off the Artura. Keep in mind, it does still have nearly 700 horsepower on tap, and at just a shade over 1-1/2 tons, even the technically heavier Spider is monstrously fast. At a mile above sea level, our most recent drag race netted a 0-60 time of around 3.3 seconds. By a seat of the pants feel, too, I suspect McLaren is underselling its acceleration a bit. Top speed still puts it in the supercar club, too, as the Artura Spider can manage up to 205 mph. Now, full disclosure, I didn’t do that, but the (brief) time it took to get to 140 mph or so on the airstrip was enough to evoke my “holy crap” response and put a huge grin on my face.
It’s worth noting that we were running the McLaren Artura Spider on standard Pirelli P-Zero road tires, and not the optional P-Zero Corsas that generate even more grip at the expense of some on-road comfort. Our approach here, though, is to test this as McLaren’s more daily drivable supercar, and even the “normie” P-Zeros coupled with the Artura’s rock-solid chassis managed to keep things beautifully composed, even when there’s the temptation to push things a bit.
Despite the 7.4-kWh onboard battery offering up all-electric driving capability (though the EPA only rates range at 11 miles, so not great), the Artura still rocks hydraulically-assisted steering. You don’t get regenerative braking either, as the battery only charges off the engine or by plugging it in, so the on-road driving experience feels remarkably analog. And sensational — from instantaneous power delivery to telepathic steering to appropriately powerful braking from the carbon-ceramic discs, the McLaren Artura Spider is still a delightful supercar to drive…in most aspects.
See, the lightweight construction, the outright power, the phenomenal handling setup and the straightforward powertrain modes (just Comfort, Sport, Track and Electric) are all high points. What’s missing, though, is the noise your brain associates with the whole supercar experience by default. Even if you go for the optional sport exhaust system that this car has, it lacks the full-throated rumble or roar of a V8 or a V10. Get it above about 3,000 RPM in the cruise, and it also tends to drone until you put it in a higher gear to shut it up.
You can make things far more peaceful by switching the Artura Spider over into electric mode, of course. Honestly, it is kind of fun to sneak around parking lots, passing bemused onlookers as they try to work out why a freaking McLaren rolled by them without making any noise. Limiting your power output to just 94 horsepower isn’t really the point most folks are aiming for with their quarter-million-dollar (or more) supercar, though. So here’s a trick to getting the most daily fun out of your Artura Spider: Stick it into Sport mode (which keeps the V6 on all the time and keeps the battery charged to 60%), and less-than-ideal engine note notwithstanding, you’ll get an incredibly satisfying surge of acceleration every time you pull away from the lights.
Seriously, the McLaren Artura Spider uses its electric motor and 8,500-rpm redline V6 to accelerate with such gusto, you’ll probably be okay not having a naturally aspirated V8, in the long run. You’ll leave pretty much any car in the dust when you take off, and outside of Track mode where the ride does appropriately firm up, the suspension is compliant enough to make that power satisfyingly usable, if not downright comfortable unless the roads where you live absolutely suck…and if they do, make sure to use the front-axle lifter. Fortunately, it’s standard on U.S. models.
The McLaren Artura Spider’s interior definitely puts function first
Supercars are meant to be beautiful as a point of order. I mean, if you spend this kind of money and can’t turn heads, what’s the point? That’s all great, until you actually go to drive…and realize your everyday controls are scattered all over the cabin and not exactly easy to use. The Ferrari 296 GTB and the Lamborghini Temerario both look awesome, but good luck trying to work all those controls at speed.
McLaren takes a more functional anti-Ferrari/Lambo approach here, from the GTS grand tourer to its more hardcore supercars, as well as the Artura. The steering wheel itself is free of buttons, while most of your controls are situated on stalks instead (with some rocker controls and knobs for good measure). With the exception of learning the stalk to control the instrument cluster screen, this setup places most controls where you’d actually expect them to be, so intuiting your way around the McLaren Artura Spider is actually fairly easy.
Throughout the cabin, the 2025 McLaren Artura Spider brings a host of leather and microsuede materials to make things feel classy, yet purposeful. If you opt for the 12-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system as part of the Technology Pack, you’re in for a further treat, as the system brings both exquisite-looking stainless steel speaker grilles on the doors, but a great sound profile with ample bass too.
Now, if you took a moment to check out the photos above, you’ll probably notice that the 8.0-inch vertical touchscreen feels a bit…stuck on. It is canted toward the driver to make it a bit easier to use, but it doesn’t look as well integrated as the GT/GTS or this car’s bigger brother, the 750S. Still, you do get Bluetooth connectivity, SiriusXM satellite radio, built-in navigation and wired Apple CarPlay compatibility (sorry Android users, but there’s no Android Auto). And compared to some of McLaren’s earlier infotainment solutions, the Artura’s setup is still a massive improvement over a couple generations ago.
McLaren also added a wireless smartphone charger as an option for 2025, again as part of the Technology Pack, and I found it a bit of a mixed bag. On the good side, it’s drop-in design will absolutely hold your phone in place, even if it’s as large as my iPhone 15 Pro Max. The down side? It’s positioned behind the infotainment screen, so you have to thread the phone into position from the driver’s seat and against a clip meant to keep the phone in contact with the charging pad. It works well once the phone is in place, don’t get me wrong, but can be finicky to get it into the charger in the first place. Still better than taking a fast corner and seeing your phone go flying into the abyss, though.
Verdict: A technical tour de force…if you can afford one.
For a supercar, one of my favorite bits of the 2025 McLaren Artura Spider is how surprisingly un-quirky it is to actually use. It still has the sweet butterfly doors, it now has the retractable roof, and it just looks cool for good measure…without being obnoxiously in-your-face, that is. Everywhere I drove, people gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up, with naysayers being few and far between (and I suspect they assign that sort of hate to all supercars, not just a McLaren). Once you get over the initial jitters of driving a car this expensive though, the Artura Spider offers up a welcoming experience that makes its drivers feel right at home.
Even with the 690 horsepower and 3-second 0-60 time, the 2025 McLaren Artura Spider does a solid amount of watching out for you, as well. Beyond the drive modes and traction control system watching your back, you also get standard lane departure warning (that you can turn off with a single button press!), road-sign recognition and optional blind-spot monitoring and cross-traffic detection.
So, what’s the catch? You knew it coming into this review: It’s expensive. Shocking, huh? Water is wet and bears do their business in the woods.
No, there’s more to it than that — I mean this particular car has $76,208 in options. What do you get for the price of a BMW M3 on top of your standard McLaren Artura Spider? Here’s the full list (bear in mind, the starting price is $278,800 before ticking any additional boxes):
- Carbon Fiber (Exterior) Pack (mirror caps, front fender louvres, rear deck inlets): $10,400
- Lantana Purple MSO (McLaren Special Operations) paint: $9,500
- ‘Performance Spec’ interior theme: $9,400
- Electrochromic roof panel: $9,400
- Driving Assistant Pack (blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic): $8,350
- Technology Pack (Bowers & Wilkins audio, wireless smartphone charging, 360-degree park assist): $7,400
- Sports Exhaust: $5,100
- 10-spoke star forged alloy wheels: $4,950
- Part carbon fiber shift paddles: $4,400
- 60th Anniversary gear paddle stripe: $1,800
- ‘America’s Accessories’ Pack (USB cord, rear plate frame, carbon valve stem caps, branded microfiber cloth, tyre cradles, car cover & McLaren bag): $2,208
- Diamond-cut wheel finish: $2,200
- McLaren Orange & silver brake calipers: $2,200
- Gloss Black Interior Pack: $1,600
- ‘Stealth’ exhaust finisher: $1,200
- Miscellaneous options (McLaren armrest, fire extinguisher, first aid kit & warning triangles): $1,100
All in, this particular 2025 McLaren Artura Spider would set you back a cool $360,008. Again, we are in supercar territory, and it’s not unique for any McLaren to have a healthy list of added-cost options, even if it’s a bit eye-watering to your layperson out there.
Even taking into account the price tag, this is still one of the more affordable McLaren models on the market (the 750S starts over $320K, for example), and an exceptional one at that, if you can swing it. Hey, at least you get a five-year/45,000-mile warranty and three years of complimentary scheduled maintenance, so you do get some added value.
