Dramatic New Artura Trophy EVO Race Car Eligible for McLaren Trophy from 2025 Season

McLaren Motorsport today reveals the new Artura Trophy EVO, which is set to increase levels of performance and excitement in the McLaren Trophy from 2025 with additional levels of power, grip, and driver engagement, while a new Pro category and McLaren Trophy Academy program will bring additional energy to the championships.

The Artura Trophy EVO parallels the performance enhancements to the new Artura Spider and coupe with changes that have resulted in a more aggressive race car capable of faster lap times.

Eligible for entry to the McLaren Trophy championships from the 2025 season – which includes the new McLaren Trophy, America series – the Artura Trophy EVO takes the unrestricted power of its predecessor to new levels. Drivers will now benefit from a ‘Push to Pass’ button that increases the 577bhp available from the 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbo engine to 612bhp. Deployment of this system will be regulated to increase strategy options available to the competitors.

The Artura Trophy EVO is easily distinguished from its predecessor by a more aggressive appearance designed to house wider tires which will make the most of the additional power now available to the driver.  In addition, aerodynamic styling includes a more prominent frontal area incorporating a modified front bumper and hood outlet to improve brake and engine cooling.

Wider wheelarches now house 285 section tires at the front and 315 at the rear, with the front arches incorporating larger louvres to reduce front lift. The wider tires (up from 265 and 305 section respectively) help transmit the additional power via new uprights controlled by 2-way adjustable dampers and stiffer anti-roll bars, to offer teams a greater window of adjustability.

The addition of prominent buttress scoops improves cooling to the rear brakes, whilst new billet uprights generate better brake-feel for the driver as well as greater durability in close racing.

The changes to the Artura Trophy EVO are so extensive that new cars will be built from production line models, making this a bespoke racing car for the McLaren Trophy one-make championships. Customers of existing Artura GT4 or Artura Trophy cars will be able to upgrade their cars into the full Artura Trophy EVO specification.

The changes provide a marked increase in traction and stability and have been designed to give drivers greater confidence in the car, which along with the push-to-pass technology will offer drivers competing in the McLaren Trophy championships even more exhilarating racing.

The more powerful and faster Artura Trophy EVO coincides with the introduction of a new Pro category to both championships. Open to Silver solo or Silver/Silver pairings, the Pro class aims to nurture professional drivers aiming for a career in GT racing. To assist in their progress, all McLaren Trophy Silver class drivers aged 26 or under will also automatically enroll into the McLaren Trophy Academy.

Designed to source and develop McLaren champions of the future, the McLaren Trophy Academy is a development program that will host workshops during race weekends. These will be aimed at developing young drivers, sharing expertise from McLaren Motorsport to focus on driving skills, motorsport engineering and media training.

Membership of the McLaren Trophy Academy also provides a pathway to the McLaren Factory Driver program; the champions of the Pro category in both Europe and America will automatically win a place at the annual McLaren Young Driver Shoot Out, the winner of which will be selected to become a McLaren Graduate and begin the process to become a McLaren Factory Driver.

Established with a European-based series in 2023, the McLaren Trophy expands to North America in its third season, running parallel championships in both continents. Open to novice and established drivers, it is designed to challenge amateur and professional racers and as a path to international GT racing, in which McLaren has expanded its presence with representation in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA. This year Brendan Iribe, who made his racing debut in a McLaren one-make championship, fulfilled his ambition to race a McLaren GT3 EVO at Le Mans.

“The team at McLaren Motorsport has created a stunning car in the new Artura Trophy EVO, which was designed to build upon our existing McLaren Trophy product following feedback from teams and drivers. It looks spectacular and with the introduction of the new Pro category and McLaren Trophy Academy will add even more excitement to the championships. The car has also been developed to inspire confidence in drivers of all abilities, which will result in thrilling racing action.

With the new McLaren Trophy, America championship joining its existing European counterpart next year and McLaren returning to Le Mans, this is a very exciting time for us in GT racing and the opportunities for our drivers have never been better.”

– Mick McDonagh, Director of MSO and Motorsport, McLaren Automotive 

About McLaren Trophy:
Launched in July 2022, McLaren Trophy is a pro-am championship designed to challenge ambitious GT drivers by placing the emphasis on the amateur (Bronze) driver. McLaren Trophy will feature two classes in its inaugural season:

The Artura Trophy is powered by the same V6 twin-turbo engine as the Artura road car, generating 585PS. It also has a high downforce package with a large rear wing and front-end aerodynamics and features the all-new McLaren Carbon Fibre Lightweight Architecture (MCLA), which provides a rigid carbon fibre chassis derived from the road car.

The 570S Trophy is based around the McLaren 570S GT4 race car and is tuned to develop around 540PS and run in a higher downforce configuration.

McLaren Trophy, Europe supports the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS with 10 rounds spread over five events taking place in Italy, Belgium, Germany and Spain, including the Blue-Riband Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa.

The McLaren Trophy Series will come to the Americas Region for the first time in 2025.

McLaren Trophy, America provisional 2025 calendar

McLaren Trophy is presented in partnership with leading brands Pirelli and Richard Mille.