Fisker Karma Hybrid Luxury Sedan

Among the many he penned, Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, BMW Z8 Roadster… none are as personal as this one to Danish-born auto designer Henrik Fisker. The reason is quite obvious, each of the vehicle to come out of the Valmet Automotive plant in Finland will literally be stamped with his name, Fisker Automotive.

In a true Tour de Force, Henrik Fisker created a hybrid vehicle like no other on the road today and for some times to come, the Fisker Karma. In competing with the new Porsche Panamera, Mercedes-Benz CLS, and other new breed of performance oriented sedan, Fisker knew his budding new company need to make a bold statement. Ensued for this was the Fisker Karma, a 4-door luxury sedan with the soul of a coupe that he designed not so long ago.

To define it technically, Fisker Karma is an electric vehicle with extended range capacity. While it does have a 260-horsepower, 2-liter turbocharged conventional engine, which its main purpose is to recharge the lithium-ion battery bank or power a 175 kW generator. It even has a roll of solar panel on its roof and plug-in outlet to charge it.  Karma is actually run by 2 electric motors rated at 403-horsepower. Combined as whole, or what Fisker called “Sport Mode”, the Karma crosses the 60 mph line from zero in about 5.9 seconds. To top it off, it will maintain a 100 miles per gallon fuel efficiency and a CO2 output of 83 grams/kilometer, actually 6 grams less than that from a Toyota Prius. Of course, you can also go all-electric in “Stealth Mode”. But then again, where is the fun in doing that?