This year, Queen Elizabeth II will receive the Platinum Jubilee to mark the 70th year of her reign. As expected, this event will take place in early June, so preparations are still underway. Following the events, the McLaren brand recently launched a special edition Artura with a specially developed silver paint effect to mark this proud milestone.
The McLaren Automotive brand, with pride in its British origins, has launched a special paint color to celebrate the 70th year of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. This paint color is also named “Platinum Jubilee” and was developed by McLaren Special Operations (MSO). This special effects paint color will also be added to the brand’s current color palette, thereby allowing customers to choose to equip their cars in the future.
This new silver paint color is used for the first time on a McLaren Artura. This car also has other special details such as a logo with the words “Elizabeth II” replacing McLaren’s own logo on the front bonnet. This platinum logo was created by the MSO department itself using custom tools and stamping machines, not for commercial use, so this logo will be unique and will only be attached to this special commemorative vehicle. .
McLaren worked with partner company AkzoNobel, which specializes in coatings, to create the most suitable metallic paint color for the new livery. They analyzed different lighting conditions and came up with the final platinum composition formula after eight days of durability and application testing by MSO’s paint developers.
Ansar Ali, Managing Director of McLaren Special Operations said: “It is an honor for MSO to create a new platinum livery to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this year. This special paint color will be available for customers to choose from for many years to come and will be a tribute to mark this historic milestone.”
McLaren chose this day to honor the Queen because on 12 May 2004 she opened the McLaren Technology Center (MTC) in Woking, signing the first page of the guestbook. Even though McLaren last year sold its iconic Woking headquarters for £170m, it remains on site and is part of a 20-year lease.
Queen Elizabeth II is Britain’s longest-reigning Queen, wearing the crown for seven decades. Over the years, the Queen has often used cars from brands such as Range Rover, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Daimler and Jaguar. Up to now, the Queen has not used any McLaren.
On Artura, McLaren has changed by not using the usual twin-turbo V8 engine. Instead, the British supercar company equipped this model with a completely new 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 engine. This engine has a “hot-V” setup with two turbochargers placed inside the two cylinder banks and an angle of inclination between the two banks of 120 degrees. This engine is capable of rotating at a speed of up to 8,500 rpm, producing maximum power of 585 horsepower and 585 Nm of torque, reaching a power/capacity ratio of nearly 200 horsepower/liter. McLaren’s new V6 engine weighs only 160 kg, up to 50 kg lighter than previous V8 engines.
Combined with this engine is an electric motor located in the vehicle’s dual-clutch transmission. This engine provides Artura with 95 horsepower and 225 Nm of torque. It has a power/mass density ratio of 33%, much higher than the previous McLaren P1 hybrid electric system. With this engine, Artura will respond to the driver more sensitively than ever. This hybrid supercar is capable of accelerating to 100 km/h from a stationary position in 3 seconds, 0 – 200 km/h in 8.3 seconds, 0 – 300 km/h in 21.5 seconds and Maximum speed is limited to 330 km/h.
