I am a year late to the game, but a year early in the prediction. Having read as much as possible about the Tesla, I just came across the Fisker Karma recently. I saw it on a billboard ad at LAX Terminal 3. I could not take my eyes off it.
Announced in January 2008, this car looks like a cross between an Aston Martin and a Maserati (two cars I love looking at and dream of owning), and it should look that way considering the designer has designed the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. It is also as wide as a BMW 7 Series, as tall as a Porsche 911, and a long as a Mercedes Benz CLS.
And here’s the kicker; it’s a plugin hybrid. It can drive 50 miles a day emission-free, has a top speed of 125 after going 0 to 60 in 6 seconds, has solar panels on the roof to keep the car cool when parked, has an electric motor for full torque just like the Tesla, and tons of other eco-efficient features. It is a four-seater, four-door sedan that would not suprise me if we see it in the next Bond film.
The lithium ion batteries are charged every night from a normal plug at home. They power the electric motor for the first 50 miles until a small gas powered generator kicks in to charge the battery. Under normal driving circumstances, it is estimated that you may only need to fill up you gas tank once per year.
Doing a bit more due diligence, I actually found that Tesla had tried to sue Fisker. Tesla claimed that Henrik Fisker, hired to design an S model of the Tesla, had saved the best ideas for himself and took them with him to start up and create the Fisker Karma. The suit was withdrawn and a judge ordered Tesla to cover Fisker’s legal expenses, but that should say a lot about both of the cars and companies.
The Karma is set to start rolling off the production line in late 2009. At a starting price of $80k, I am sold, or at least thought I was. It’s an American car company, which makes me even more happy to purchase the vehicle. I was all ready to throw down the $1000 down payment a couple of weeks back, when I realized they were presenting at the Detroit Auto Show in early January, so I figured I would wait and see what they had in store for us this year.
Well, Fisker did not dissapoint and now I am definitely sold on their newest model, the Karma S (stands for Sunset), a two door convertible version of the coupe. The Karma S has all the same main features, is a hard top convertible, is slightly shorter in length, and may be the sweetest looking thing since apple pie.
The only downside in waiting for this Auto Show is that they have increased the down payment for the Karma, to be delivered in 2010, up to $5000. In even more agonizing waiting pain, the Karma S will not be rolling off the assembly line until mid 2011. Deposits for that convertible are a staggering $25000. For now. So, now I will wait on putting forth a down payment as well as wait an extra year for the Karma S.
In the end, I know it will be worth it. I have never seen a hard top convertible that looked so good. Add to that the electric motor and other environmentally friendly features and I do not imagine anyone else coming close to this within the next two years.
*image source: fiskerautomotive.com
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Thats one nice looking car, ill take 1 in blue please.
what im noticing about these cars at the moment is the technology is here and has been for a while some manufacturer needs to take hold of a great design and make it affordable to a larger audience, toyota have done well with the prius but really spoiled it by the fugly design.
whats stopping Bmw, Audi, ford etc putting this technology into every day cars at an affordable price.