Newly appointed McLaren CEO Michael Leiters stopped deliveries of the Artura upon his arrival a few months ago to fix quality issues. However, ghosts of the past are still negatively impacting the Woking brand as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has already issued a recall for the freshly launched hybrid supercar. No fewer than 164 vehicles might have this problem and will need to visit the dealer to remedy the technical issue.
The problem stems from the nuts used for the high-pressure fuel pipe. Over time, these might come loose, which could lead to a fuel leak. In a worst-case scenario, a fire would erupt. According to the NHTSA’s safety recall report:
“If the nut becomes loose, the seal between the end flare of the fuel pipe and the sealing cone of the pump outlet may be disrupted, leading to the release of fuel. The end flare of the fuel pipe is situated close to engine components which have a high operating temperature. If fuel is released in proximity to these components, it could result in thermal activity.”
Of the 164 cars hit with a recall, McLaren spokesperson Roger Ormisher told Automotive News that fewer than 50 have actually been delivered to customers. Most of the impacted vehicles are press vehicles or currently serve as demos at dealerships in the United States. To fix the problem, the high-pressure fuel pipes will have to be replaced. Needless to say, the repair job will be done free of charge.
At the beginning of the month, McLaren CEO Michael Leiters admitted “non-mature” products were rushed to the market in the past, but not anymore:
“We saw that the car [Artura] wasn’t mature, so we stopped deliveries. We already had a significant delay in our production line at the time and we reduced [production] to zero [cars] a day to fix our quality problems.”
The Artura was originally unveiled back in February 2021 and has since spawned two track-only derivatives taking the shape of a GT4 and a Trophy. The latter will race next year in the one-make McLaren Trophy Championship serving as a support series for the GT World Challenge Europe.
