Newly appointed McLaren CEO Michael Leiters halted deliveries of Artura following his arrival a few months ago to fix quality issues. However, the ghosts of the past are still having a negative impact on the Woking brand as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall for its newly launched hybrid supercar. No less than 164 vehicles may experience this problem and it is necessary to visit the dealer to fix the technical problem.
The problem stems from the nuts used for the high pressure fuel pipes. Over time, these may come loose, which can cause fuel leaks. In the worst case scenario, a fire will erupt. According to the NHTSA safety recall report:
“If the nut becomes loose, the seal between the fuel pipe end flare and the sealing cone of the pump outlet may be compromised, causing fuel release. The fuel pipe end flare is located close to engine components that have high operating temperatures. If fuel is released in near these components, may result in thermal activity.”
Of the 164 cars affected by the recall, McLaren spokesman Roger Ormisher said Automotive News that less than 50 have actually been delivered to the customer. Most of the affected vehicles are either press vehicles or are currently serving as demos at dealerships in the United States. To fix the problem, the high pressure fuel pipe must be replaced. Needless to say, repair work will be carried out free of charge.
Earlier in the month, McLaren CEO Michael Leiters acknowledged “non-mature” products had rushed to market in the past, but not anymore:
“We saw the car [Artura] not ripe, so we stopped shipping. We were already experiencing significant delays in our production line at that time and we reduced them [production] to zero [cars] a day to fix our quality problems.”
Artura originally launched back in February 2021 and since then has spawned two track-only derivatives in the form of GT4 and Trophy. The latter will race next year in the one-off McLaren Trophy Championship as a support series for the GT World Challenge Europe.
