Fisker Karma

[vfx]

Yep. Stick a fork in them. They're done.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news...s-for-bankruptcy-doe-loan-sold-for-25-million

I imagine if Henrik stayed with Tesla, his station in life would be quite different now.

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

I believe the design center is different: more limited electric range in the i8, parallel vs. serial hybrid. Most likely the ICE in the i8 is going to be operating much of the time, with the electric motor providing a performance boost like in the Porsche 918 and McLaren P1. Unlike the Karma, it is not primarily an EV.

The real question is what is the market for a 2-seat sports car that costs $135K+, has a 3 cylinder ICE and goes 0-60 in 4.8 seconds? For the same price I can get a Porsche GT3 that goes 0-60 in 3.3. seconds and has a proper engine note.

Agreed. I think for a very similar price the Acura NSX has better performance specs. I guess won't know for sure until it hits the market.

According to BMW the i8 gets ~94 miles per gallon on the EU test cycle. So I guess I kind of wonder how much more efficient the i8 will be compared to a GT3 in the hands of a ‘fuming petrol head’.

And BMW seem quite pleased with the engine note[SUP]1[/SUP] in the i8’s Sport Mode… But yes – the 0-60 in the i8 takes 4,4 something[SUP]2[/SUP] seconds. That is ~1,1 seconds slower than the GT3…

But on the other hand Matt Farah apparently leases a Volt, and Jay Leno apparently also uses a Volt as his daily driver, so who knows – maybe an i8 over a GT3 actually can be a compromise that a ‘fuming petrol head’, who can plunk down 135K+ $$$, actually could make…

Looks like Fisker filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy today.

It’s the talk of the town over at Fisker Buzz if someone’s interested…

Fisker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of sale to investor group - Fisker Buzz Forums


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[SUP]1[/SUP]IAABLOG | Live from Frankfurt

[SUP]2[/SUP]The BMW i8 Sports Car Will Do 95 MPG, 0-60 MPH In Under 4.5 Seconds | *Hrm hmm*, *cough* Jalopnik *cough*

 

[lolachampcar]

dennis,
Porsche a proper engine note????? Obviously not a Ferrari guy

 

[smorgasbord]

I believe the design center is different: more limited electric range in the i8, parallel vs. serial hybrid. Most likely the ICE in the i8 is going to be operating much of the time, with the electric motor providing a performance boost like in the Porsche 918 and McLaren P1. Unlike the Karma, it is not primarily an EV.

Serial vs parallel? That's inside baseball. Very few will care.

I think many people will look at the 75 MPGe of the i8 and find that compared to the Karma, the i8 has better performance, better gas mileage, and looks enough the part.

The real question is what is the market for a 2-seat sports car that costs $135K+, has a 3 cylinder ICE and goes 0-60 in 4.8 seconds? For the same price I can get a Porsche GT3 that goes 0-60 in 3.3. seconds and has a proper engine note.

I thought the i8 has a rear seat - at least as much as a 911 has a rear seat. With the i8 you gotta factor in the 75MPGe.

 

[Raffy.Roma]

So are we going to have a new Karma?

 

[brianman]

AFAIK, Henrik is still alive so the thread title is a bit confusing.

 

[RobStark]

Fisker Automotive Dead?

 

[brianman]

Fisker Automotive Dead?

Perhaps, but I think bankruptcy is clearer.

 

[Grendal]

Perhaps, but I think bankruptcy is clearer.

The key is to label it Fisker Automotive. Otherwise it could be that Henrik Fisker filed for bankruptcy - which didn't happen either

 

[Zythryn]

Word I have heard is the buyers want to continue work on the Atlantic, which would be great.
However, the chapter 11 paperwork seems to show that the debts to owners and dealers (warranties), are gone.

So they are burning some bridges, however they are also avoiding past, current and future warrantee costs for the Karma.

Unsure if they actually will go ahead with the factory in Delaware, or if the Atlantic will morph into something else.

 

[rolosrevenge]

Plus didn't we already start discussing this on the Karma thread?

 

[Lessmog]

Plus didn't we already start discussing this on the Karma thread?

Ah, but as you should know, rolosrevenge, it will always come back to haunt you ;-))

 

[Robert.Boston]

Let's move this discussion over to Fisker Karma

 

[Doug_G]

Good idea. I merged the discussion from the TSLA Investors section.

 

[vfx]

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/...bid-cites-it-as-cause-of-bankruptcy#src=10065

Corpse still has life to it.

Bankrupt automaker Fisker Automotive is urging courts to approve the sale of its assets to a Hong Kong company currently bidding on it, in the hope that it can prevent Chinese auto parts maker Wanxiang from intervening and buying up the assets before the sale can take place.

 

[Doug_G]

What, they're still around?

 

[Right_Said_Fred]

Every few weeks I'm receiving letters about the sale/liquidation/whatever (I don't read all the legal mumbo jumbo). I sold the car a year ago but my address has obviously not been striken from their US-database.

 

[vfx]

Every few weeks I'm receiving letters about the sale/liquidation/whatever (I don't read all the legal mumbo jumbo). I sold the car a year ago but my address has obviously not been striken from their US-database.

We get those too! (and don't read them) We never bought a car but we did have an early reservation payment.

 

[dennis]

I'm hearing rumors of a stealth Silicon Valley startup that has raised $$ to build an all electric 4 motor sports car (a la SLS/Rimac) on the Karma chassis. Anybody else heard anything?

 

[ljbad4life]

I'm hearing rumors of a stealth Silicon Valley startup that has raised $$ to build an all electric 4 motor sports car (a la SLS/Rimac) on the Karma chassis. Anybody else heard anything?

The karma would make a horrible platform for an all ev sports car with 4 electric motors. Literally where would you fit everything? How large of a battery could you fit? as it stands now it's under 50 mile range battery down the center of the car is all you can fit. If you add batteries to the front then you get an extremely nose heavy car, which doesn't bode well for handling or traction. The logistics of reconfiguring the Karma would be far more costly than just starting from scratch or buying a glider from Lotus(or another car company).

The least costly thing to do is to gut the Karma's drive train and replace it with an improved drivetrain. bmw 3 cylinder or 4 cylinder for the gen set, and dump a123 pack for small cell batteries like tesla with a better discharge rate (so it's actually a sports car, not just sporty looking and as fast as a chevy volt). And for the sake of everything make sure it works right. The Karma isn't a horrible car, it was just horribly executed.