THE first plug-in supercar to come from British sports car brand McLaren will be called the Artura when it arrives next year.

Powered by twin turbo V6 engine mated to an electric motor it is understood to develop more than 600bhp and will be a successor to the 570S.

McLaren says the Artura has a lightweight High-Performance Hybrid powertrain that retains the performance benefits of its V8 engines and has the additional attraction of improved torque response at low engine speeds to deliver scintillating acceleration.

The Artura can also run on electric power alone for everyday emission-free urban journeys.

The Woking-based company says the Artura builds the brand's electrification plans which were first seen in the P1TMhybrid hypercar unveiled in 2012 and more recently the Speedtail Hyper-GT, which entered production this year as McLaren's fastest ever car with a top speed of 250mph.

The Artura is McLaren's first High-Performance Hybrid series production supercar and although details are sketchy at the moment the company says it plans for the car to be released early in 2021.

Mike Flewitt, McLaren's chief executive, said: "Every element of the Artura is all-new - from the platform architecture and every part of the High-Performance Hybrid powertrain, to the exterior body, interior and cutting-edge driver interface - but it draws on decades of McLaren experience in pioneering super-lightweight race and road car technologies to bring all of our expertise in electrification to the supercar class."

Further details about the Artura - including pricing and performance data - will be revealed over the coming months.