The McLaren Artura GT4 faces the chopping block as the British marque focuses on GT3 and one-make series’
- Jack MacKenzie
- 7 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The McLaren Artura GT4 customer racing program is set to be axed within three years according to the brand’s new Head of Motorsport, Giorgio Sanna, with the British marque placing greater focus on its GT3 efforts and one-make series.
Speaking to invited motorsports media outlets at the 2026 Daytona 24 Hours, Sanna – who became McLaren Automotive’s Head of Motorsport in November, 2025 following a 22-year tenure at Lamborghini – revealed the imminent demise of the Artura GT4 program.
“We will continue to support the GT4 customer teams but in three years’ time, we will be focused only on Trophy and GT3,” Sanna told members of the motorsport press.
The Artura GT4 will continue to be sold to teams and receive support from McLaren until the end of 2028, with only spare parts offered from the factory from 2029 onwards.
Currently, McLaren’s Customer Racing program is spearheaded by the 720S GT3 Evo, which debuted in 2023. The brand’s one-make McLaren Trophy series – which also features the Artura but in series-specific specification – runs in both Europe and America, and is soon set to expand into Asia according to Sanna.
“It will be a McLaren Trophy Academy for young talent that we will select and support to the McLaren Trophy in America, Europe and in the future also Asia, to move into the GT3 programs with our support,” Sanna said.
The Artura GT4 finds itself on the chopping block as McLaren reallocates its resources to its GT3 program and the Trophy series’.
“It’s a matter of resources because it’s clear that we don’t have unlimited resources and we have to keep focus on what we consider more important for the company and the brand,” Sanna told the press.
According to Sanna, McLaren Customer Racing plans to speak with existing Artura GT4 customers about making the switch to McLaren Trophy once factory support comes to an end.
“....we will talk with our existing teams to investigate the opportunity to move from GT4 to the Trophy, because it’s possible also with an upgrade kit,” said Sanna.
Customer McLaren GT cars – specifically the F1 GTR – first appeared on racing grids as early as 1995. However, the modern McLaren Customer Racing program made its competition debut in 2012 with the 12C GT3.
It wasn’t until 2016 that the brand’s first GT4 contender – the 570S GT4 – hit the track in the hands of the Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse team, competing in the British GT Championship.
The covers came off the successor to the 570S racer – the Artura GT4 – in 2022 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with its competitive service stint beginning at the opening round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge the following year.
Two Artura GT4s lined up on the grid at Daytona for the start of the 2023 season: the No.58 Crucial Motorsports entry – helmed by Aurora Straus, Henry O’Hara and Michael de Quesada – and the No.69 Motorsports in Action contender driven by Jesse Lazare and Alex Filsinger.
The No.58 crew finished sixth in the GS class at the opening round while the No.69 came home in 21st. Later that season, the Motorsports in Action team were able to pick up Artura’s first win in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at the final round of the year at Road Atlanta.
