Not as in ‘beyond all value’. They haven’t sorted the sticker, yet. But the order book is open anyway.

OBVIOUSLY it’s a sign of the wealth level of its customer base that an exotic brand can feel comfortable about opening the order book for a new model while still mulling how much it will charge.

That’s the situation with McLaren its new Artura Spider supercar.

Other markets for what is essentially a convertible version of the Artura coupe launched last year for $419,000 have sorted their stickers.

Ironically, the closest to us, Australia - where on exchange rate it’s a $560,000 ask - is also the base for the national public relations’ representation for our country.

However, for the brand founder’s land of birth, there’s as yet no decision about what the car should fetch, a spokesman for DecPR indicated in response to inquiry.

“Local pricing for New Zealand will be announced at a later time.”

There might be some pent-up interest in the new derivative as Artura was originally designed to accommodate a convertible configuration from release.

To compensate for the wait, the arrival of the open-top model also heralds a 15kW power hike for both the coupe and convertible models and some chassis upgrades.

The challenge of delivering Artura with a one-piece retractable hard-top that can be folded away in 11 seconds at speeds of up to 50kmh are clearly there.

The design didn’t require any additional body strengthening - the carbon-fibre monocoque construction was already stiff enough - but it did ask for aerodynamic changes, in order to keep the car's plug-in hybrid powertrain cool and prevent the cabin getting too blustery when the roof is folded away.

McLaren fitted a new windscreen surround and a new cooling duct system at the rear of the car, channelling cooling air into the engine bay while also accelerating the movement of hot air away from the powertrain.

When the roof is raised, the panel had to be aerodynamically designed to keep the engine bay cool, including a sculpted shape that helps draw hot air from the compartment.

The car weighs 1560kg - 62kg more than the coupe - and most of the increase is down to the retractable roof mechanism.

The power update to the coupe is one existing owners can also benefit from, as it’s a software patch for the common 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine and electric motor, both of which drive the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

Mclaren has also very fractionally increased the electric-only range to 33km. The transmission has been revised, too, allowing the car to change gear 25 percent faster, while the exhaust has been altered to produce an even more raucous noise.

McLaren has also retuned the suspension slightly to provide better reactions to inputs from the driver and sharper adaptation to the road surface. There are new engine mounts, too, offering improved stability and steering feel.

The 0-100kmh time for both is three seconds flat, while the top speed is 330kmh.