McLaren Artura vs Ferrari 296 GTB: one of these hybrid supercars is a dream to drive
One is faster and more attractive, the other is cheaper and much easier to drive, especially on city roads. So which would I buy?
Driving around London by car has become very hard. Especially if you’re me, because I host one TV show about farming and another about cars. That’s a global-warming double whammy – and it makes me a big, juicy target for all those pink-haired young ladies and vicars who think that blocking roads as a form of protest will save Johnny polar bear. And I was even juicier last week because I had to go to London in a McLaren Artura. I was fearful I’d be dragged from it and glued to the bonnet.
I nearly went on the train, but then I remembered that the Artura is a hybrid. So I could zoom down the M40 using the full force and ferocity of petrol and then, in the capital, I could push a button and run silently, like a summer breeze. I recently reviewed the new Ferrari 296 GTB, which can pull off the same trick. The Ferrari is more powerful than the McLaren, and more expensive, but other than that they’re pretty similar. Both have virtually flat, 120-degree V6 engines. Both have turbos in the V. Both have the same two-seat, mid-engined layout and both are delightfully little.
Ferrari did everything they could to make me hate the 296 GTB, below, sending me a car with annoying four-point seatbelts and quite the most revolting paint scheme since the VW Polo Harlequin. But though I still question the engineering purity of a hybrid – they exist only to keep pink-haired young ladies and vicars happy – I was very taken with the car itself. It was wonderful.
In many ways the McLaren is even better. It doesn’t have buttons all over the steering wheel, for a start. That’s a big plus. And while it may lack the explosive oomph of the Ferrari, it’s no slouch. It will go from 0-100km/h in three seconds, with a top speed of 330km/h. That’s very impressive. But what I like even more is how that power is delivered. It’s gentle. Delicate. And as a result, not scary. It must also be said that the engine sounds fantastic. Like a really fast farmyard auctioneer.
Couple this to the tininess of the car, and the fact you can’t even see the bonnet from the driver’s seat, and it feels more like sports car than supercar. And I prefer sports cars. They’re more real, somehow, because they’re built to be a laugh, and not just to drive around Harrods at three in the morning.
Unlike McLarens of old, the Artura doesn’t have clever electronic suspension that means each of the wheels is completely unconnected to the others; there’s a more straightforward set-up. But this is a car that still flows on country roads. It’s a dream. And the ride, in Comfort mode at least, is just on the right side of tolerable. The only real annoyance is the din from the Pirelli P Zero tyres.
I’m told that at the press launch there were a number of problems, including some “thermal powertrain management issues”. Which sounds like a “fire” to me. But I had a good old poke around in the interior of my test car and I have to say it seems to be as well made as a Victorian tunnel. It’s spacious, too. One of the treats of getting old is that you don’t bend in places where you used to, so getting in and out of a low-slung car is usually funny enough to be a TikTok hit. But the Artura’s fine.
That said, it did take a worryingly long time to work out how the engine could be used to charge up the batteries. My plan was to switch to silent electrical power in London, in the hope that the pink-haired young ladies and vicars would wave cheerily at me as I slithered by. But when I got there the readout said I had only 6km of range. Anyway, I flipped the switch and was plunged into a strange world – because there I was in a car that’s all visual brimstone but that made no noise and had about the same top speed as a small horse.
Make no mistake, though, the engineering in this car is very clever. The whole engine, electric motor and gearbox assembly is unbelievably small and the way they all work together suggests some witchcraft has been deployed. I said exactly the same about the Ferrari. But which would I choose? Tricky. The Ferrari is more exciting but the McLaren is more civilised.
The Ferrari is better looking and a bit faster. But the McLaren is cheaper – relatively – and much easier to use. I guess it comes down to who you prefer in F1, McLaren driver Lando Norris or Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. And that doesn’t help either, as both seem to be good eggs. I’d take the McLaren but I wouldn’t blame you if you did the opposite.
McLaren Artura V6 2dr PHEV DCT
ENGINE: 3.0-litre V6, twin turbo, plus electric motor (500kW; 720Nm); fuel economy 3.82 litres per 100km
TRANSMISSION: Eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, rear-wheel drive
PRICE: From $449,500 before on-road costs
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