Fisker Karma

[smorgasbord]

Jack Nicholson called

Jack Nicholson called. He wants his smile back.

Sorry, couldn't resist. I've read numerous times that the car is prettier in real life than in photos.

I want EVs to become more popular, and I think hybrids like the Volt and Fisker can be good first steps for some people.

It's to be expected that the first car from a new car company will have glitches. Some people still ask how Tesla could have messed up so badly with its two-speed transmission in its first Roadster run. On the other hand, as a now established company, Tesla has a higher expectation bar to meet with the Model S.

 

[ljbad4life]

And I said the fuel economy in gas mode is going to be painful... Let's watch!

It really depends on how fisker implemented it. If they pull energy from the battery during heavy loads and put it pack during non peak conditions then the gas mileage will be ok (25mpg).

If they deplete the battery and it's sole motivation is that 4 cylinder, then is no way they are going to get more than 20mpg out of it. I don't care how turbo charged the 4 cylinder is, it's still a 4 cylinder moving a 5k lbs+ car.... I have a heavy feeling that it's the latter

To clarify I'm not talking sports mode, I'm referring to if you drive 50 miles in EV mode then have to switch to gas.

 

[doug]

It just goes to show just how complicated and heavy it gets when you try to stuff two cars onto one chassis.

And yet the Volt manages to do ok, relatively speaking.

I have to say now that if the trunk is smaller, then the production karma has (about) the same sized trunk as a Tesla roadster. So the Karma is an EvER? how can you travel anywhere of a 200 mile radius and expect to have enough clothes for 2 people, let alone 3 or 4. This is specifically what I have always stated about the karma, form trumps functionality every time.

From my read of it, it does sound like the trunk space is about the same as the Roadster's. Too bad they didn't design these seats to fold down.

 

[ljbad4life]

And yet the Volt manages to do ok, relatively speaking.

From my read of it, it does sound like the trunk space is about the same as the Roadster's. Too bad they didn't design these seats to fold down.

I can with 100% confidence tell you that that back seat did not have that much legroom in the pre-production car.

 

[SByer]

I still can't get past that ugly-as-sin (IMO) front end. I find it truly cringe-worthy.

 

[Jaff]

Agree totally!...nice profile, but has a "face only mother could luv"...

I still can't get past that ugly-as-sin (IMO) front end. I find it truly cringe-worthy.

 

[DisneylandIsHome]

Agree totally!...nice profile, but has a "face only mother could luv"...

Yep. Alfred E. Neuman's mother.

 

[ljbad4life]

Just read this report over at autotbloggreen, stating the Fisker only needs a multigear box to achieve Veyron like 0-60 times in the Karma. 0-60 in just under 3 seconds. The karma's battery pack is already maxed out its output with a 0-60 time of 7 seconds (in ev/stealth mode). Even with the ICE kicking in extra juice it's still only 5.6 seconds... I highly doubt any gearbox can shave off more than 2 seconds. At the same time the gear box will rob the Karma of all the low end torque evs are known for...

 

[AnOutsider]

Just read this report over at autotbloggreen, stating the Fisker only needs a multigear box to achieve Veyron like 0-60 times in the Karma. 0-60 in just under 3 seconds. The karma's battery pack is already maxed out its output with a 0-60 time of 7 seconds (in ev/stealth mode). Even with the ICE kicking in extra juice it's still only 5.6 seconds... I highly doubt any gearbox can shave off more than 2 seconds. At the same time the gear box will rob the Karma of all the low end torque evs are known for...

I just read the same thing and my eyebrow went up as well...

 

[doug]

It almost sounds to me like he's hinting that Karma won't reach the promised performance specs without a multi-speed gearbox.

 

[richkae]

It doesn't say the Karma specifically could reach Veyron levels, it says "extended-range electric vehicles".
The White Zombie home-built pure EV with a single speed transmission http://www.plasmaboyracing.com/whitezombie.php already can do the 0-60 in 1.8 seconds.
I fully believe that someone with the budget could build a pure EV that could assault every Veyron performance benchmark including top speed - of course the range would be limited ( but the comparison doesnt work out that bad, the Veyron burns up its 26.5 gallons of gas in just 50 miles at top speed )
The huge advantage an EV would have is that the Veyron wastes 70%+ of the energy it consumes making heat, and thus it has to have hundreds of pounds of radiators and cooling water to dissipate that heat.
Running air over those radiators causes lots of drag.
Since an EV would only waste 10%ish of the energy that goes to driving the car forward as heat, it would need much less radiator, and thus have much less drag.
With less drag, you need much less horsepower to go the same speed.

 

[mattjs33]

0 to 60, aero drag isn't going to have much effect. Unless you are talking top speed? In which case the Veyron has a special "top speed" mode wherein the stance is lowered, the wing retracted, and the radiator inlets closed off. A quick 0-60 spurt won't generate the heat a top speed run would.

But it is interesting what Fisker is saying. I started a thread posing a similar question about electric gearboxes, and the general consensus here was that it wouldn't necessarily prove beneficial. What's Henrik know that you guys don't?

 

[ljbad4life]

It doesn't say the Karma specifically could reach Veyron levels, it says "extended-range electric vehicles".
The White Zombie home-built pure EV with a single speed transmission http://www.plasmaboyracing.com/whitezombie.php already can do the 0-60 in 1.8 seconds.
I fully believe that someone with the budget could build a pure EV that could assault every Veyron performance benchmark including top speed - of course the range would be limited ( but the comparison doesnt work out that bad, the Veyron burns up its 26.5 gallons of gas in just 50 miles at top speed )
The huge advantage an EV would have is that the Veyron wastes 70%+ of the energy it consumes making heat, and thus it has to have hundreds of pounds of radiators and cooling water to dissipate that heat.
Running air over those radiators causes lots of drag.
Since an EV would only waste 10%ish of the energy that goes to driving the car forward as heat, it would need much less radiator, and thus have much less drag.
With less drag, you need much less horsepower to go the same speed.

I read specifically the part where fisker said "like the karma", to me it's the four door style and drive train combined. if he meant just the drive train he would have said EvEr, but that semantics I guess. I'm sure Tesla could pump out a super car that could push past the 3.0 second mark (the Roadster sport does it in 3.7) but the range would be severely compromised.

Fisker couldn't build a car that's a)light enough or b) the battery has a high enough output to propel their car fast enough so a gearbox would probably be needed.

 

[vfx]

...I'm sure Tesla could pump out a super car that could push past the 3.0 second mark (the Roadster sport does it in 3.7) but the range would be severely compromised....

So could Taylor and Easy-Go. This is not a revelation from Fisker.

 

[Norbert]

Fisker to hand over keys to first production Karma tomorrow Autoblog Green

Tomorrow afternoon, Fisker Automotive will officially hand over the keys to the first production Karma to Ray Lane (sorry Leonardo DiCaprio) at Kleiner Perkins Headquarters in Menlo Park, CA.

 

[doug]

Apparently Leo got his yesterday. Colin and Al get theirs later this week.

 

[doug]

So I managed to stop by this press event since it was close by. I've uploaded a bunch of raw photos here (Fisker Karma - a set on Flickr) via a Starbucks wifi connection. I'll put up some videos (and delete some of the superfluous photos) when I get some better internets.

 

[smorgasbord]

Did you drive up in a roadster?

 

[AnOutsider]

Thanks Doug, nice shots! In some of these photos, I notice more now than before that there seems to be a dip right after the windshield before the hood rises again.

 

[ljbad4life]

hey doug did you get a chance to take a peek at the trunk? I'm still convinced they shrunk it for more cabin room.