gorgeous Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid

[cnschult]

2 years ago I went to the detroit international auto show & saw an aston martin rapide and my jaw fell to the ground, it was easily the most gorgeous vehicle to ever adorn 4 doors. (the saab aero x was the best-looking 2-door car at the show)

however, this year I saw a new fisker karma plug-in hybrid and my heart stopped again. below is a link to see the photos but the article is in another language so here's the skinny: it will available as a 2009 model, it is a 4-door 4-passenger gorgeous sedan, RWD 0-60mph in 6 sec, solar-panel roof to charge batteries and run fans when parked in the sun, regenerative braking, after an overnight charge the lithium batteries can go approx 50 miles, after that a gas-engine recharges the batteries, so engine doesn't drive the wheels like a normal hybrid like the prius, but more like the chevy volt (this idea is superior to the prius cause the engine will run less often, but for longer periods of time, thus operating at optimum temperature longer), at $80K its $20k cheaper than the tesla and can carry 2 extra passengers and isn't limited by the 200 mile range.

I think some people made frantic calls to tesla to try & get their deposits back, this fisker karma will knock you off your feet. But I've never known fisker to make their own cars, they typically take another car like a bmw z8 or a mercedes SL and change the bodywork and change the interior to make it more unique, I've never seen them build a car from the ground-up, so reliability will definitely be an issue with this small coachbuilder, but if they really build it, toyota can kiss their LS600h sales goodbye.

here's the link to some pictures:
Fisker Karma - sportwagen op batterijen » Autoblog.nl » Autonieuws van de straat

[Flying White Dutchman]

looks like a aston martin
and photoshop pictures...
where are the real pictures

[CMonster]

This link has actual pictures from the show:

Fisker's Karma - 2008 Detroit Auto Show - MSN Autos

It is pretty, and I love the (optional) solar panel.

[524]

that's real pretty.

I'll take one with no leather please

yeah I wish

what's the mpg? Anyone know? I couldn't find it anywhere.

[Xias]

Wow, looks very nice!

[cnschult]

hey 524, technically the gas mileage is infinite for the first 50 miles of your commute. Because the EPA only test-drives vehicles for 10-20 miles when making their mileage estimates, there won't be any official mileage numbers. But based on the size of the vehicle, I'd estimate 40-50 mpg on highway trips, maybe higher with the solar-panel roof.

But the highway mileage is irrelevant because they won't be able to keep up with the demand, but since they are an exotic coach builder who sells very few models and they have no dealerships, I'm just curious if they will use dealerships or sell from just one spot in the country. If they don't have dealerships, I'm just curious how they will service the fiskers and make warranty repairs.

[hill]

Originally Posted by cnschult

2 years ago I went to the detroit international auto show & saw an aston martin rapide and my jaw fell to the ground, it was easily the most gorgeous vehicle to ever adorn 4 doors. (the saab aero x was the best-looking 2-door car at the show) however, this year I saw a new fisker karma plug-in hybrid and my heart stopped again. below is a link to see the photos but the article is in another language so here's the skinny: it will available as a 2009 model, it is a 4-door 4-passenger gorgeous sedan, RWD 0-60mph in 6 sec, solar-panel roof to charge batteries and run fans when parked in the sun, regenerative braking, after an overnight charge the lithium batteries can go approx 50 miles, snip . . .

Motor trend, the antithesis of energy conscious folk sure put their spin on such cars. Hoping, most likely, they'll all remain "vaporware" ?
The Greening of Detroit: Much ado about vapor | Editorial Blog at Motor Trend

[hill]

Originally Posted by cnschult

2 years ago I went to the detroit international auto show & saw an aston martin rapide and my jaw fell to the ground, it was easily the most gorgeous vehicle to ever adorn 4 doors. (the saab aero x was the best-looking 2-door car at the show) however, this year I saw a new fisker karma plug-in hybrid and my heart stopped again. below is a link to see the photos but the article is in another language so here's the skinny: it will available as a 2009 model, it is a 4-door 4-passenger gorgeous sedan, RWD 0-60mph in 6 sec, solar-panel roof to charge batteries and run fans when parked in the sun, regenerative braking, after an overnight charge the lithium batteries can go approx 50 miles, snip . . .

Motor trend, the antithesis of energy conscious folk sure put their spin on such cars. Hoping, most likely, they'll all remain "vaporware" ?
The Greening of Detroit: Much ado about vapor | Editorial Blog at Motor Trend

[blamy]

At 80,000 a copy I wonder how many will actually be sold. Toyota could take the Prius and rebody it with a nice little 2 passenger sports model look at around the same price as the standard Prius and I think that would sell to all those that must have a little bit of sportiness. It would beat the stuffing out of the Miata!

[miscrms]

Thats pretty nice looking!

Not quite a Tesla killer in my book though. Last I heard Tesla was <4s 0-60, where as this is 6s. Thats kind of like a Cobalt SS compared to a Corvette Z06. Serial Hybrid is good, in that it really is an EV, so you may be able to get full performance in EV mode. Generally speaking it is less efficient than a parallel hybrid though, as you have to convert gas -> electric then electric to mechanical and each energy conversion has losses. It may also require the engine running to meet current demand under heavy acceleration. If not, I'd say its pretty much a wash with the Tesla. Tesla winning out if you care more about zero emissions range & acceleration. Fisker if you need unlimited range. At $80k and looking the way both of these cars do I have to imagine that acceleration number is going to weight pretty heavily for many, but we'll see what happens. Can't say I'll be in the market for either any time soon

In other news, it sounds like Lexus may be planning more of a true high end prius which would be cool:
New Luxury Hybrid From Lexus Switching From Power to Efficiency ~ Hybrid Car Review

Rob