Fisker Karma

[Cobos]

There's no doubt there, the question I'm asking is in regard to space on that flexible production line. If they can make 10 cars a day and 8 of them are Porsches until 2011, then only 2 of them can be Karmas.

Cobos

 

[graham]

Fisker just raised more money to produce the Karma. They are still saying Q4 2009 for delivery, which seems very aggressive to me, but should be great for the market if they can hit it.
Plug-in maker Fisker Auto recharges with hefty funding | Green Tech - CNET News

Fisker Automotive on Tuesday said it raised $65 million to build the Fisker Karma, a planned $80,000 plug-in hybrid sports car.
The series C funding, first reported earlier in May, was led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and joined by existing investors, investors Palo Alto Investors and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The company had previously raised $25 million, CEO Henrik Fisker said in May.

The Fisker Karma sports sedan, a plug-in hybrid with a 50-mile range on battery alone.
(Credit: Fisker Automotive)
The company expects to start delivering the four-door Fisker Karma in the fourth quarter next year, with planned production of 15,000 units a year.

 

[graham]

Fisker Karma to use GM's 2.0-liter turbo'd four - AutoblogGreen

Those who were miffed at General Motors for eschewing its initial plans to launch the Chevy Volt with a small 1.0L turbocharged three cylinder engine are probably not going to like this piece of news, but Fisker Automotive has finally settled on an internal combustion engine to recharge the Karma's on-board lithium ion batteries. It's a big one, with a full 2.0-liters of displacement and direct injection, oh... and a turbocharger for good measure. While it is definitely debatable whether or not the Karma really needs 260 horses and an equal torque figure to spin its generator (which we'll leave up to you in the comments... don't let us down), it's not really as bad as it may seem.

The Ecotec line of engines from GM are solid pieces of machinery, and the more power that the engine and generator are sending to the battery pack, the quicker the whole shebang will be recharged. It's an aluminum engine too, so the weight isn't as bad as it could have been, and it's fairly fuel efficient with its direct injection as well. So, while we'd love to see the Karma get an exotic, lightweight powerplant, the 2.0L DI Ecotec and its 260 horsepower is, in all actuality, a pretty efficient package when one considers its hefty power-to-weight ratio. Discuss.

 

[TEG]

The Karma is likely to be a rather heavy vehicle. Going uphill at high speeds for a while (say driving from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe) you are likely to need a lot of gas engine horsepower to keep from running the batteries all the way down. If they do it like the Volt where it runs mainly off of batteries for the first 40 miles, then you will really want some HP from the gas motor if you are trying to motor on just on gasoline power alone after the batteries are drained.

 

[vfx]

Yes please to the bailout money.

CBS news last night:
'Karma' For Plug-In Hybrid Video - CBSNews.com

 

[DDB]

Yes please to the bailout money.

CBS news last night:
'Karma' For Plug-In Hybrid Video - CBSNews.com

There were some new bits in that clip. I didn't realize they had their own Bluestar-type plan with a $40,000 model planned (no doubt to compete with the Volt).

 

[dpeilow]

Perhaps that plan has just emerged to make them a credible recipient of the bailout money.

 

[graham]

Perhaps I just misinterpreted the statement, but it sounded to me like a low cost version of the Karma, not an entirely new car design like the Bluestar.

 

[doug]

Fisker previews production Karma plug-in hybrid ahead of Detroit - [2009 Fisker Karma] - MotorAuthority - Car news, reviews, spy shots

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/fisker-preps-its-production-car-5289.html

 

[Kevin Harney]

That is a really hot looking car (sans the grill) and if it makes it to market before the Model S I would probably buy it any way. Model S might be cheaper. All I have to say is you better get that Model S prototype OUT !!!! They are losing all of their momentum and stalling out. I would much rather have an all electric car like Model S but I will take what I can get

 

[vfx]

sweeeeet:biggrin:

Too bad about the price increase.

Now we have to look at what rebates apply to it.

 

[doug]

I'm guessing they've toned down the grill as part of the redesign for production and will reveal that new look in Detroit (hence, the rear shot tease).

 

[Kevin Harney]

they have released sneak peaks of the whole car. Grill changed some but is still just plain ugly. I will see if I can find the link ... pretty sure I actually saw it here ...

Doug,
It was your link above that I saw. Are those OLD sneak peeks or new ones ?

What are those black diamond shaped things on the bumper ?

 

[doug]

Doug,
It was your link above that I saw. Are those OLD sneak peeks or new ones ?

New, AFAIK. I don't follow Fisker that closely. If you have photos of the production version, post them.

 

[Kevin Harney]

I was looking at the photos at the bottom of your link.

 

[doug]

I was looking at the photos at the bottom of your link.

Sorry, I might have misread your question. The pictures of the blue car are old, as most here should know. The photo I embedded is new (as far as I know).



.

 

[vfx]

I'm guessing they've toned down the grill as part of the redesign for production and will reveal that new look in Detroit (hence, the rear shot tease).

I was going to say the same thing. A back end photo says change on the front end.

One of the sites says the "exhaust" pipes are for heat from motor cooling.
I would remind though that it still has a combustion engine.

 

[just-an-allusion]

I was going to say the same thing. A back end photo says change on the front end.

One of the sites says the "exhaust" pipes are for heat from motor cooling.
I would remind though that it still has a combustion engine.

I picked this up from Jalopnik:


Fisker Karma Gets Approval To Go Finnish

By Ben Wojdyla, 9:20 AM on Tue Jul 15 2008, 1,383 views

Valmet Automotive, based in Finland, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fisker Automotive to build the Fisker Karma. With this announcement, we also get further details surrounding the hybrid luxury sports car: According to Valmet CEO, Ilpo Korhonen, the Karma, which we have seen testing before, will be capable of traveling 50 MPH before the engine kicks in to charge the batteries. It has a maximum all-electric range of 62 miles, and the starting price tag for the US may be bumped up an extra five grand to $85,000.

Production is to start next year with exports bound for the USA, and sales in Europe will begin the year after. Maximum volume is targeted at 15,000 cars a year, which means demand from smug, wealthy motorists will be happily met. Yep, 2010 is shaping up to be one hell of a fuel-mileage battle royale.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://jalopnik.com/assets/resources/2008/05/Fisker-Karma.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jalopnik.com/398540/fisker-karma-gets-finnish-accent-from-valmet-automotive&usg=__4VUX0UNcivXg7uA-_a4cp7h3JmY=&h=351&w=600&sz=30&hl=en&start=18&um=1&tbnid=uT2PtAuJH2AjYM:&tbnh=79&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3DFisker%2BKarma%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-USfficial%26sa%3DN

It appears that they've restructured the grill to make it more so defined and not so much like a big, s#%t eating grin.

 

[doug]

I was going to say the same thing. A back end photo says change on the front end.

One of the sites says the "exhaust" pipes are for heat from motor cooling.
I would remind though that it still has a combustion engine.

Detroit Preview: Fisker Karma coming in production form - AutoblogGreen

From the press release:

The production model to be featured at the 2009 NAIAS will include an upper grill that is graphically enhanced, being slightly larger towards the outer corners. The lower air intake has been enlarged to allow for more airflow and underneath the rear bumper, an aerodynamic diffuser includes the integration of a cooling cover for the electric drivetrain.

To optimize cooling and aerodynamics, the exhaust pipe from the ICE engine is routed directly out behind the front wheels.

 

[dpeilow]

Fisker Reveals Production Version of Luxury Electric Car : Gas 2.0