McLaren’s Artura Spider embraces hybrid engineering while preserving the aggressive styling and performance legacy the brand is known for. Photo: Patrick Gosling, courtesy McLaren

McLaren’s creations are unmistakable. From the low, wind-defying profile to the jutting, driving front end to the massive cooling scoops, they remain one of the makes that look like they’re moving while impatiently sitting still. Not that they’re known for sitting still. In the late 1990s, when the Woking, U.K.-based automaker was at its most ambitious, it built the then-fastest production car in the world, the McLaren F1, which checked in north of 230 mph. Since then, makes such as the P1, the 720S and the Senna have reinforced McLaren’s reputation for building some of the proudest and most aggressive supercars on the market.

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The $274,000 McLaren Artura Spider convertible takes the automaker’s identity in a new direction. Not only is it a hybrid, but it turns away from the hyper-powered nature of its race-inspired ancestors in favor of a 3.0-liter V6 and e-motor powertrain. While that may not make the car “ecologically fuel efficient” compared to pure EVs or consumer hybrids, it is a shift in McLaren philosophy: quick but not record-setting fast; lighter and not over-muscled.

By no means should McLaren fans fret that this........

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