Fisker looks set to keep its promise to put its Karma hybrid saloon into production next year, according to these spy shots.
The sleek four-door was photographed undergoing durability tests in California. Fisker claims the first 99 cars have already been sold, and says that they should reach their owners by the end of next year.
The Karma uses lithium-ion batteries to power an electric motor driving the rear wheels. But the idea is for owners to plug the car in to the mains every day, which gives a 50-mile range if the car is fully charged. Fisker maintains that most people’s daily commute is less than this – a claim backed up by GM, which is aiming for a 40-mile range for the Chevrolet Volt.
Like the Volt’s powerplant, the Karma’s battery can be topped up by a small petrol engine, likely to be a Volkswagen 1.4-litre four-cylinder, which acts as a generator to give it a potential range of 300 miles. Options will include solar panels for your house to provide free, green power to charge the car.
Although the cars are designed and built in the US, Fisker wants 50 per cent of the projected 15,0000-unit production total to be sold overseas; it has appointed its first European importer, based in Italy. The car will cost €80,0000 (£63k) and European deliveries are scheduled to start in 2010.
autocar

Oh, I'm impressed because I didn't believe Frisker when he said that the car will hit the shows rooms at the end of 2009, but it looks like he wasn't speaking in a vacum. It seems like the production model and test mules was already in works before he presented the concept. Can't wait to see the final car, I hope it looks as spectacular as the concept.

I find it even more sexy in these spyshots.

Wow. This proves this car is really going to happen. Am I the only one that wants him to offer this sexy design with more than just the hybrid drivetrain. How about a nice BMW I6 or MB V8 too?

M

Production Fisker Karma Caught Testing

May 10, 2008 10:02 PM by Clinton Deacon
Filed Under: Spy Photos Specialty

The Fisker Karma was no doubt an awesome concept when it made its debut back in January at the Detroit Motor Show and it drummed up a huge amount of publicity not only by its hybrid technology but also its innovative elegant design.

Publicity has dropped off since then ( apart from a lawsuit with Tesla Motors), therefore Fisker has released a few images of what appears to be a prototype of the production version to try re-ignite that public reaction and judging by these photos, should be nothing but positive.

In many cases, the production version of a concept loses the finesse which created the buzz in the first place, but this prototype appears to have kept an almost identical design with the black and white disguising doing little to hide any design elements from public view.

There is little known about the powertrain for the production version as Fisker continue to keep the technology under wraps but what we do know is the Karma will feature a new technology called Q-Drive which has been developed exclusively for Fisker by Quantum Technologies. The new technology uses a small gasoline engine that turns the generator, which charges the lithium ion battery pack - this engine is rumoured to be a 1.4-liter engine sourced from Volkswagen.

The production version of the Fisker Karma will be launched by the end of next year with a price on the region of $80,000.

Original Link: WorldCarFans.com -- Fisker Karma Caught Testing

Side Note: "The technology uses a small gasoline engine that turns the generator, which charges the lithium ion battery pack - this engine is rumoured to be a 1.4-liter engine sourced from Volkswagen."

That's not that much different from the Owen Magnetic that Jay Leno owns:

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Fisker working on four Karma variants

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Despite regular legal tussles with rivals like Tesla and the occasional production set-back due to the high-tech nature of the product, Fisker is aiming to get its Karma plug-in hybrid car to market by the end of next year. After the Karma sedan hits the streets, there are already plans for three more models based around the same core technology, including a convertible, coupe and even an SUV.

The timeline for the subsequent models is still vague, but Vic Doolan, a Fisker board member and the company’s director of retail development, said the new models would be available by 2012, reports AutoWeek. The company’s goal for the Karma and its compatriots is to secure 3.3% of the luxury vehicle market outright. That figure doesn’t include high-end SUVs in its tally, but with their current sales trends, that’s a reasonable exclusion.
The Karma itself is on pace to make its release date, with an intial list price of around $87,000 and production volume of about 7,500 cars in its first full year, 2010. The company hopes to double those figures by 2011, and will consider offering a vehicle in the $60,000 range to further help boost volume sales. The Karma will be built in Finland, but plans for an eventual U.S. production base are being laid.
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Those Fiskers are beautiful! But how do they do quality-wise?

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Despite the occasional lawsuit from competitors and some fairly lofty design goals, Fisker’s Karma plug-in hybrid appears to be headed smoothly toward production. In the latest round of Series C financing, Fisker Automotive has raised a total of $65 million, thanks to the contributions of a new investor. An affiliate of the Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar’s government investment arm, led the way. The new money will be used to support development and production of the car by Q4 2009.
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Can't wait to see this. I just hope a nice BMW or Mercedes gasoline engine will be available also as a seperate model.

M