Fisker debuts glamorous Karma PHEV at Laguna Seca
PHEV newcomer Fisker Automotive has debuted its striking Karma saloon at California's Laguna Seca racewayFisker Automotive has announced a production date for its Karma sedan. The company recently rolled out a prototype at the famed Laguna Seca track for the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races and the car the crowds saw there is basically what they'll see in showrooms, come May 2010.
The second high-profile plug-in glamour car to turn up from a specialist maker after Tesla's Roadster, the Karma exemplifies the speed-to-market imperatives of the 21st century auto market. It's taken just 19 months to go from inkling to steel-and-glass reality -- a trajectory that once might have taken five years or more.
The unusual maturity of the design language informing the Karma's bodywork belies the newness of the brand. But the car boasts a formidable design heritage -- progenitor Henrik Fisker's design resume includes BMW's subtly beautiful Z8 and Aston Martin's not-so-subtly beautiful DB9.
Although the Fisker Karma can reach 60mph (97km/h) in six seconds and has a top speed of 125mph (201km/h), the company says its miserly fuel consumption also means carbon emissions are lower than today's hybrids.
The 300kW prototype Karma PHEV hit 100km/h in six seconds on the demo run, going on to 160 in zero-emission (electric-only) mode. The company's press statements say it's good for "well over 100 mpg", or 2.3L/100km on the combined city/highway cycle. Fisker claims an electric-only range of 80km, supplemented by a 175kW generator hitched up to a 2.4-litre GM turbo four to extend the range to 480 km.
The RWD powertrain uses a pair of electric motors to translate power from its 23kW/h lithium-manganese battery into 1300 Nm of torque.
Fisker currently projects a price tag around US$90,000 for the Karma sedan.
Right hand drive cars? "They're in the plans," Fisker PR boss Russell Datz told CN. "We're targeting 2012."
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