McLaren has confirmed that it will be delaying the launch of its new hybrid supercar, the Artura, until the summer of 2022. Slated to commence deliveries by the end of 2021, the company has stated that the chip shortage has forced a revised timeline.
The semiconductor shortage has been a popular excuse for automakers the world over and may still be valid. Chip manufacturers have continued prioritizing the production of newer, more advanced components yielding higher margins. However, these units typically do not make their way into automobiles and are more commonly found in smaller electronic devices.
That said, numerous people in the know have told us automakers are having much better luck sourcing the chips they need of late — hinting that the semiconductor shortage may just be a catch-all excuse for supply bottlenecks that have failed to abate. Regardless, none of those individuals work for McLaren. So we’ll have to take the company at its word.
Originally reported by Automotive News, McLaren verified the delay as stemming from the chip shortage — adding that it was an industrywide issue. Though the automaker has already had to delay the Artura once before, as the model was initially supposed to launch by June of 2021. McLaren cited software issues (another popular excuse) and claimed that problems with suppliers had made it impossible to get the vehicle out the door on time. It was rescheduled for the fall of 2021, stating that delivering the Artura supercar was a top priority.
Now it’s a full year behind schedule.
Though things could be worse considering the whole $1.6 billion Track25 program — intended to help the company deliver 18 new vehicles by 2025 and embrace electrification — is now behind schedule by over two years. McLaren wanted to get a glut of hybrid and all-electric cars into its lineup. But pandemic-related complications have created a host of problems and the company was already in desperate need of cash by 2019. It’s been borrowing money and selling assets for the last couple of years, with there being genuine concern that the company may never recover. It did, however, get a massive $758 million equity investment led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and global investment firm Ares Management over the summer.
And none of that will matter if the Artura fails to reach the market, since it’s supposed to supplant the 570S as the company’s biggest seller. In fact, the model was supposed to account for 40 percent of the brand’s annual sales by 2022. But that’s been made impossible due to the repeated delays.
The Artura rides on a new platform and represents sizable investments into McLaren’s R&D. The model is supposed to start at $225,000 and comes with a novel twin-turbo V6 mated to a plug-in hybrid system capable of all-electric driving. Rated at a combined 671 horsepower and 531 lb-ft of torque, the powertrain is said to snap the Artura past 60 mph in 3.0 seconds. It sounds great, provided it ever gets built.
[Images: McLaren]
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