A Real Life Fisker Karma
While cruising the foreclosed sprawl that is Metro Las Vegas, the last thing one expects to see is a Fisker dealership. But there it is; and it’s not a mirage.
In the rarefied circus of super-sedans, the gasoline-electric Karma is the standout visually. The Panamera is too bulbous. The Rapide is too derivative. The Lamborghini Estoque is too…not a production car. The images of the Karma online and in print readily make its boldness and beauty apparent. But incredibly, it looks even better in person.
It all comes down to the exaggerated dimensions, which just do not translate well in 2D. The apex of the passenger compartment is just a few inches above a standing six footer’s belly button. The hood is long and sleek, sort of a mix between an E-Type Jag (in proportions) and Gundam/Robotech (in detail). And speaking of Jags, the cosmopolitan Fisker makes the XJ parked next to it look positively compact and pedestrian. The 22 inch rims wearing 255/35-profile rubber complete the aggressive, wide stance.
A peek through the window reveals four narrow racing-style seats. They look cool, but a bit too snug– especially if you’re the size of the average American. Despite its impressive exterior dimensions, the small interior means it is categorized as a subcompact. So unless you have the legs of a flamingo, this might not be the car for you.
Images source: Jim Yu
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Cool! Another destination for our trip to Vegas.
I've seen a few of these now, and I agree, it really does look fantastic in person. The only thing I didn't like about it in the concept renderings and photos was the Snidely Whiplash mustache grille. It has grown on me though, and the whole package looks elegantly aggressive.
I bet that hood is long enough to swallow a giant V10 or V12.
Plus it's electric, so it's CA smog inspection exempt.
Would anyone on this site entertain the idea of owning one of these for any other reason than apperances sake? Cause personally I just can't seem to like it. It's attractive but it's dull, all that "green" technology makes it heavy (5300lbs) so it can't be fun to drive and lastly just like any other hybrid it's range and efficiency is killed by a TDI Jetta.
Also I'm sad that you lumped Robotech and Gundam together, they have radically different mech design languages.
It's disappointing they didn't hit the numbers as far as price or efficiency. But conceptually, a car that can do a short commute or errand on pure electric power is still appealing to me.
Why does anyone own a really expensive car?
It's almost never a rational purchase, so it comes down to personal preference, style and image.
Is a typical Hooniverse reader going to run out and buy one? No…but that's true for 99% of the new cars, anyway. Would we be salivating over it as a unique oddball if it were 30 years old? Definitely.
Truthfully? Even people who own really expensive cars do it for more than apperance, CEO's don't roll around in Rolls Royces and Maybachs just because they're good looking, they also happen to be stupidly comfortable. Then you have your supercar buyers who value performance greatly albeit those cars tend to be hot looking too. Even Tesla drivers buy that car over a Prius cause they want to retain some driving spirit.
The Fisker Karma does nothing well except look fantastic. You're right in 30 years we'll think the retro hybrid tech is funky but there won't be many (or any) if they don't sell now.
As a Tesla Roadster driver, I can assure you that I did not cross shop a Prius! I looked at Porsche 911, Jag XKR, Corvette (ZR1 or Z06 + nice custom interior) and used DB9. After a once in a life time financial windfall, I was in the market for a fun car I could drive everyday.
Having something "different" was a big factor in my decision. I actually hate the whole "green washing" hypocrisy (for example, drive a Prius to a giant, air conditioned, poorly insulated, house).
As an engineer, I appreciate the efficiency of an electric power train and like the idea that as the electric grid moves towards more renewable power sources, so does my car.
I have no interest in owning a Karma. I think it's cool that it exists and I wish Fisker good luck. The combination of large exterior dimensions and impractical, cramped interior is a big turn off, regardless of its power train. The Karma is longer and much wider than a Volvo station wagon (V70), for example.
I'm curious, why one Tesla instead of something like a Rally Fighter and an Exige/Elise/Evora for around the same cost?
At the time I already had an eminently practical Volvo V70R. Two cars was enough! I have since sold the Volvo as I drove it less than 800 miles in 12 months. I might buy something old to wrench on and
complainphilosophize about here…Fair enough… But rally fighter and exige!Maybe a 914 with an ej swap. Many of us will live vicariously through you with that one.
Right now I'm thinking about a 60's FIAT 500… A Giardinera model would be even better!
Sorry, didn't mean to insult any one with that. You may not have but that doesn't mean that no Tesla buyer has and unfortunately for my argument the Prius and Tesla are the halo "green" cars and the pool of vehicles to choose from isn't very big.
I totally understand your point of view. I'm afraid I have actually encountered people that are more concerned about giving the impression that they are "green" just to fit in with their "crowd". They will drive the car with the "greenest" cred and install solar panels on the street side of their house, even it faces North, so they can be visible…
Supercar buyers only value performance if they take it to the track on a regular basis. Otherwise they're driving it on the road at one tenth to look cool. With just about any motorized conveyance decision I make, I'd rather have a car that I can take near its limit on the road and be around the speed limit than something that never really gets to stretch its legs unless I pay whatever (very high) amount the one track near me needs for a track day.
It sounds like you would really enjoy driving a Geo Metro!
You never know. I enjoyed driving a last gen focus when I was a lot guy for a rental place because I could spin the tires incessantly and never lose control. I would never recommend anyone buy one, but they are fun to kick around. Not that a Geo Metro could do that, but I think my next car will be a light weight FWD hatch. Probably an Abarth or Veloster Turbo. Kind of the same reason if I ever get a motorcycle my first one will be a 250.
It's true that a Rolls offers some value in the form of craftsmanship, but there's ostensibly no reason to drop 250-500k on one over a $100k S-Class.
If supercar buyers were rational, they'd buy a used 911, 'Vette or BMW, drop the cash required to make it track-legal, and spend the rest on the most comfortable tow vehicle they can find. If they're just using them on the street, they're using 1/8th the performance envelope or driving ridiculously recklessly.
Back to the S-class…that's basically the competition for the Karma, dollars-wise. The interior's more cramped, but that doesn't matter if you're doing single-seat commuting (as most of the buyers will be) most of the time.
The ability to do ~50miles on all-electric is significant, not because it's better economically than a TDI Passat, but because it's it's cool. There aren't any other high-end sedans that can do that. As a 100k luxury good, that's all it needs to be.
It just seems aimless to me. I'm too practical to ever own a car like that I guess.
Oh, you and your low performance supercars that you can get all the way up to 1/8th on the road.
"Would we be salivating over it as a unique oddball if it were 30 years old? Definitely."
Untrue! I categorically deny that I am even now awaiting delivery of a 30-odd-year-old electric hybrid that I most certainly did NOT purchase sight unseen from someone in Texas a couple of weeks ago. Nope. Never happened. It is not, in fact, sitting at a shipping terminal in Wisconsin awaiting a westbound truck even as I type this.
Also, it's orange.
Totally didn't see that one coming.
Really? I thought it was fairly predictable.
…?
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/226/493778947_907133d083.jpg">
(But you said hybrid… hmmmm…)
You're right, I said hybrid. Sebring-Vanguards and their successors are purely electric. They're also far too large and way overbuilt.
There hasn't been a hybrid Bond Bug has there? That seems like your style. Although, it would be too old. Also, I don't care if it is much to tall for your normal style, a citicar/comuta-car would be perfect for you. A twike would be way too enormous for you… Dammit.
Editors take note, this is how you perform a mystery car.
It might be asking a bit much of the editorial staff to purchase something for each Mystery Car post. Besides, I have yet to enter into negotiations with the Washington State Patrol to determine whether it is licensable as a car. Just because it has four wheels and was originally manufactured in the US (nope, not a Bond) for the domestic market as a motorized vehicle, intended for the street-legal transport of adults, doesn't necessarily make it that simple.
If you bought a GM prototype from the sixties and are calling it 30 years old I'll have to hit you with a shovel.
On that note, I'm out of ideas.
No, it's from the late 1970s, so it's thirty-ish. I posted a photo of one (not mine) a few days ago:
http://atomictoasters.com/2012/01/user-input-lazy…
The trick is that although it's an electric hybrid, it's not a gasoline-electric hybrid. The Lyman was marketed as "America's First 4-Wheel Moped" which is how I hope to register it here, thanks to a refreshing degree of flexibility in the state's definition. I'm thinking it will make a nice companion to my three-wheeled motorcycle.
Also, apparently not all were electric only.
<img src="http://www.didik.com/didik_ct.jpg">
The Didik is a homebrew modification. Interesting, but mine is a factory hybrid.
Dang, you should have gotten an orange one, to match most 3-prong electrical extension cords. Seriously now, you kick butt!
Thanks! Happily, the orange part is actually true.
How much was the postage?
About $500, which in this case is a significant fraction of the total cost. Well, the total cost so far, as I haven't seen it yet. I'm told it runs.
You're such a tease…
Please write about it once it is no delivered to your house!
You may want to reconsider that upon seeing my link to just what a Lyman Electric Quad is, above. I admit I am looking forward to finding out just how its pneumatically-controlled voltage selector is supposed to work.
I can see techies getting into the car for non-vanity reasons.
I haven't drooled over a new car in years. This car looks amazing. But I wouldn't buy it even if I had the money because it's cramped inside and I'm just not a fan of alternative energy vehicles. Only gasoline and turbo diesel powered cars for me, thank you.
Maybe Atomic Toasters can cover the Robotech/Gundam dichotomy.
Its simple: one of them has fighter jets that turn into mecha, and the other have mecha which inexplicably fly like fighter jets. Not that I'm biased or anything.
()
…?
I don't get which is worse from your description (no youtube at work)…
What? who wouldn't want an F-14 Tomcat that, at the push of a button, turned into a giant stompy robot?
It's an awesome car as a concept, but the numbers don't really convince me. Price, performance and range don't really make for an attractive package in spite of the awesome styling. But it's all new technology, so people with money to burn will buy it for that. The electric car market is something of a novelty or boutique niche at this point. Time will tell if it catches on as a concept or if some other technology like fuel cells comes along and makes it obsolete.
I would say your qualifier is unfair. When a car is a rolling piece of art, it is impossible not to purchase it for appearances sake. It's like the Top Gear 8C argument.
Dudley Do-right. +1 to you sir for that. I also would've accepted Dick Dastardly from wacky races.
That's awesome since I almost went with him as well. Snidely took the edge for having the more apropos sounding name.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/oOO0c.jpg">
Vaporware.
Wow, that sure got the thumbs down quickly. That will teach you to sarcasm.
Lemme fix that…
Sarcasm? What's that?
Also, maybe I should not it on all my posts: I am never serious, unless I am. Golly.
Are you calling yourself a liar? Seriously?
I always lie. Except, well, you know.
No Except. Falsehoods are always the best policy.
Oh, you're just saying that.
I was fortunate enough to drive one recently, and it actually handles and stops with almost shocking alacrity. It just doesn't accelerate with the sort of urgency its shape implies.
Having that 1800lb battery pack set so low in the chassis really helps utilize all the available contact patch when cornering- the grip available is stunning. Of course, that means mid-corner speeds are also quite high, and given the weight, I can't imagine it would be very easy to catch if it did start to spin.
A more complete writeup will be published on s2ki.com sometime this week. Tune in if you care to.
Are you sure of that 1800lb figure for the battery weight?
I got that figure from a Fisker representative. It seems excessive to me as well, since it's only a 22kWh pack, and the Tesla's 53kWh pack only weighs 750lb. That said, it's hard to see where else all the extra weight could have come from.
What's the battery chemistry, if you know? An older type of battery would weigh a bit more than a lithium battery, like the Tesla and Volt have – not enough to explain the whole difference, but it would make th figure a little more plausible.
They are using Li-Ion. The pack should be a lot lighter. Maybe the sales person was giving you the weight of the entire drive train, including the battery, motors, generator and engine. I would not be surprised that some of the commenters here know more about the Karma than the freshly minted sales people.
I'd hate to see one of those after a hailstorm. Replacing that roof? Ouch.
Hanzel Auto Body Works approves of hail storms.
But how does Gretel feel about them?
In other news, Saab has just about breathed its last, and even completed cars will be crushed soon, along with the uncompleted ones. I want to weep.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars…
Actually, the final cars will be disassembled for parts inventories, not crushed. http://www.aftonbladet.se/bil/article14220093.ab
I hope you're right, and Autocar is wrong.
For $112k, I expect to be able to beat a Mini Cooper in a quarter mile.
I'd take an EV midget myself regardless to how it did in the quarter or anything else for that matter even.
Touche. You must have been one of the 23 people who have read my blog.
The midget isn't fast, but it didn't cost $112k.
I love your blog
Recently I have not kept up though since I have been making pinewood derby cars with my sons, but I'll get back to the latest entries. I really like what you did, I wish I could pull something of like that.
Pardon me, sir, but I believe you want a different site for "electronic midgets".
It's a safety feature. You know, the whole "don't run with scissors" thing.
hey man….this olelongrooffan recognized that Marlin by only the left rear tali light in an early image….you now have another lurker on needthatcar…
Unfortunately, the Marlin is gone. I will write up a post about it one of these days though.
Maybe I need a "to all the cars I've loved before" category.
What are those circle doodads, four in the front and four in the rear, plus the one bigger one on the front? They are distracting, really spoil the looks for me. Nothing some chrome bumpers wouldn't fix I guess.
The small circle doodads are probably parking sensors, which are listed as part of the Karma's equipment.
Thanks. Maybe the bigger one is for adaptive CC or something?
I think the big one is a cover for a towing eye- I've seen those on other cars.
Part of me wants to take one of these and drop an LS3 in it (or maybe an LS9), backed by a Tremec six-speed and a Ford 9-inch with a four-link setup.
It has an LNF in it, which really is quite an enjoyable engine. I don't think it powers anything other than a generator though, and that is a shame.
I like that idea, but I'd rather wedge a Cummins ISB in the 'engine' bay, then cut a hole in the hood so it 'fits'.
That hole? That's like a NACA duct, but different.
I am happy to see so many comments.
I am kinda bummed that no one noticed my casino references: flamingo, circus, cosmopolitan, mirage.
Actually Jim, I did. While I thought it was rather clever…I then realized it was, in typical Las Vegas fashion, just an illusion.
Can't Wynn them all.