First Pics! Fisker's $80K Hybrid Hits the Road
05-11-08, 07:05 AM
#1
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First Pics! Fisker's $80K Hybrid Hits the Road
Fisker Automotive isn't wasting any time getting its Karma plug-in hybrid on the road. Five months after pulling the wraps off the car at the Detroit auto show, it's flogging a test mule in Southern California.
The pictures offer the best evidence yet that Henrik Fisker is serious about getting the $80,000 sedan into showrooms by the end of next year, and they're a shot across the bow of Tesla Motors as the two companies race to bring the first high-performance four-door hybrid to market.
Fisker isn't saying anything about what's under the hood of the prototype, but we know the company is working with Quantum Technologies on a series parallel drivetrain that will use an electric motor to drive the wheels and an internal combustion engine to charge the lithium-ion batteries. Autocar says it could be a 1.4 liter Volkswagen engine, but all Henrik Fisker would tell us, through a spokesman, is "the car MAY have a German engine that turns the generator."
Clearly the company isn't allowing itself to be distracted by its legal fight with Tesla, which has filed a lawsuit claiming Fisker agreed to design Tesla's WhiteStar sedan, then cribbed from its confidential files to design the Karma. Fisker calls the suit nonsense.
We've got more pics from Fisker...
The pictures offer the best evidence yet that Henrik Fisker is serious about getting the $80,000 sedan into showrooms by the end of next year, and they're a shot across the bow of Tesla Motors as the two companies race to bring the first high-performance four-door hybrid to market.
Fisker isn't saying anything about what's under the hood of the prototype, but we know the company is working with Quantum Technologies on a series parallel drivetrain that will use an electric motor to drive the wheels and an internal combustion engine to charge the lithium-ion batteries. Autocar says it could be a 1.4 liter Volkswagen engine, but all Henrik Fisker would tell us, through a spokesman, is "the car MAY have a German engine that turns the generator."
Clearly the company isn't allowing itself to be distracted by its legal fight with Tesla, which has filed a lawsuit claiming Fisker agreed to design Tesla's WhiteStar sedan, then cribbed from its confidential files to design the Karma. Fisker calls the suit nonsense.
We've got more pics from Fisker...
Source: http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/05/fisker-karma-pl.html
And a bonus video!
05-11-08, 07:19 AM
#2
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I was very excited when I heard the Karma was to be released and this testing just keeps the excitement going. As a big fan of the CLS 4door coupe style design plus the eco friendly electric model, I can honestly see this being my next car. I even like the Jokeresk front design. I will just have a bobble figure of the late great Heath on my dash board!
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05-11-08, 08:18 PM
#8
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I wish Fisker every success with it!
05-12-08, 01:44 AM
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The only problem is that the GS is not a real fuel-saving hybrid. It's too bad, really. I wish Lexus would reconsider going down this "performance hybrid" road. Only a very small percentage of the luxury buying market is even interested in the GS hybrid. Honestly, they would probably sell much more of them if they were matted to the 2.5 liter V6 in the IS and achieved 35mpg than using the 3.5 liter and trying to turn their hybrid tech into some kind of supercharger. The GS450h neither excels in optimum fuel efficiency or high output performance, so why not use this tech for what it was designed for instead of trying to create a market that clearly isn't there? 
If they were trying to make the GS hybrid a beast, then why not use the hybrid tech on the V8 instead of the V6? It just doesn't make sense to me. The 450h & 460 are too close in total power output, fuel efficiency, and price to really differentiate the two models from each other.
If they were trying to make the GS hybrid a beast, then why not use the hybrid tech on the V8 instead of the V6? It just doesn't make sense to me. The 450h & 460 are too close in total power output, fuel efficiency, and price to really differentiate the two models from each other.
05-12-08, 06:29 AM
#12
The only problem is that the GS is not a real fuel-saving hybrid. It's too bad, really. I wish Lexus would reconsider going down this "performance hybrid" road. Only a very small percentage of the luxury buying market is even interested in the GS hybrid. Honestly, they would probably sell much more of them if they were matted to the 2.5 liter V6 in the IS and achieved 35mpg than using the 3.5 liter and trying to turn their hybrid tech into some kind of supercharger. The GS450h neither excels in optimum fuel efficiency or high output performance, so why not use this tech for what it was designed for instead of trying to create a market that clearly isn't there?
If they were trying to make the GS hybrid a beast, then why not use the hybrid tech on the V8 instead of the V6? It just doesn't make sense to me. The 450h & 460 are too close in total power output, fuel efficiency, and price to really differentiate the two models from each other.
If they were trying to make the GS hybrid a beast, then why not use the hybrid tech on the V8 instead of the V6? It just doesn't make sense to me. The 450h & 460 are too close in total power output, fuel efficiency, and price to really differentiate the two models from each other.
05-12-08, 06:49 AM
#13
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The only problem is that the GS is not a real fuel-saving hybrid. It's too bad, really. I wish Lexus would reconsider going down this "performance hybrid" road. Only a very small percentage of the luxury buying market is even interested in the GS hybrid. Honestly, they would probably sell much more of them if they were matted to the 2.5 liter V6 in the IS and achieved 35mpg than using the 3.5 liter and trying to turn their hybrid tech into some kind of supercharger. The GS450h neither excels in optimum fuel efficiency or high output performance, so why not use this tech for what it was designed for instead of trying to create a market that clearly isn't there?
If they were trying to make the GS hybrid a beast, then why not use the hybrid tech on the V8 instead of the V6? It just doesn't make sense to me. The 450h & 460 are too close in total power output, fuel efficiency, and price to really differentiate the two models from each other.
If they were trying to make the GS hybrid a beast, then why not use the hybrid tech on the V8 instead of the V6? It just doesn't make sense to me. The 450h & 460 are too close in total power output, fuel efficiency, and price to really differentiate the two models from each other.
great post!
05-12-08, 07:27 AM
#14
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The only problem is that the GS is not a real fuel-saving hybrid. It's too bad, really. I wish Lexus would reconsider going down this "performance hybrid" road. Only a very small percentage of the luxury buying market is even interested in the GS hybrid. Honestly, they would probably sell much more of them if they were matted to the 2.5 liter V6 in the IS and achieved 35mpg than using the 3.5 liter and trying to turn their hybrid tech into some kind of supercharger. The GS450h neither excels in optimum fuel efficiency or high output performance, so why not use this tech for what it was designed for instead of trying to create a market that clearly isn't there?
If they were trying to make the GS hybrid a beast, then why not use the hybrid tech on the V8 instead of the V6? It just doesn't make sense to me. The 450h & 460 are too close in total power output, fuel efficiency, and price to really differentiate the two models from each other.
If they were trying to make the GS hybrid a beast, then why not use the hybrid tech on the V8 instead of the V6? It just doesn't make sense to me. The 450h & 460 are too close in total power output, fuel efficiency, and price to really differentiate the two models from each other.
05-12-08, 07:41 AM
#15
Lexus Test Driver
The only problem is that the GS is not a real fuel-saving hybrid. It's too bad, really. I wish Lexus would reconsider going down this "performance hybrid" road. Only a very small percentage of the luxury buying market is even interested in the GS hybrid. Honestly, they would probably sell much more of them if they were matted to the 2.5 liter V6 in the IS and achieved 35mpg than using the 3.5 liter and trying to turn their hybrid tech into some kind of supercharger. The GS450h neither excels in optimum fuel efficiency or high output performance, so why not use this tech for what it was designed for instead of trying to create a market that clearly isn't there?
If they were trying to make the GS hybrid a beast, then why not use the hybrid tech on the V8 instead of the V6? It just doesn't make sense to me. The 450h & 460 are too close in total power output, fuel efficiency, and price to really differentiate the two models from each other.
If they were trying to make the GS hybrid a beast, then why not use the hybrid tech on the V8 instead of the V6? It just doesn't make sense to me. The 450h & 460 are too close in total power output, fuel efficiency, and price to really differentiate the two models from each other.
I'm looking for a hybrid myself once I trade in my car in next year..and I definitely would look at the GS hybrid but unfortunately it doesn't give me the added fuel efficiency, which is a shame! Last time I checked people who drive hybrids, drive them mostly for the fuel efficiency and not the horsepower
Hopefully Lexus can address this problem in their future hybrid vehicles or I will start looking at MB's Hybrids in the future