The Fisker Karma was recently reviewed by Autocar, a new car built by an entirely new company with 300 employees that has already received 3,000 orders and has 1.1 billion dollars in its bank account.
The Fisker Karma features some discrete design cues that sort of remind me of the BMZ Z8 and even of the Aston Martin Vantage, which should come as no surprise, as Henry Fisker, the guy behind the Karma, has designed both of the above mentioned models.
The Fisker Karma, the world’s first luxury plug-in hybrid, is outfitted with two electric motors producing around 200 HP in the back and a 270 HP, 4-cylinder General Motors engine in the front (the same engine that powered the Pontiac Soltice).
The car can be operated in two modes – Stealth and Sport, with the first making use of electric power alone and the car able to sprint from nought to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds, reach a maximum speed of around 95 mph and offer a cruising range of approximately 50 miles.
When driven as the Sport model, the Fisker Karma will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds, with a top speed of 125 mph limited only to prevent the batteries from overheating, but the automaker claims the car could go as fast as 168 mph.
The Karma weights over 2.5 tonnes, which is quite a lot due to its rear-positioned batteries, but despite that, Autocar claims it handles pretty well, but it should not be regarded as a great driver’s car.
Some of the Karma’s problems are the lack of space for the rear passengers and in the boot, and the fact that the 4-cylinder petrol engine is quite noisy, but if you can live with that, then this model does indeed represent an interesting proposition.
The Fisker Karma can get 100 miles per gallon while emitting less than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometer, and it does so while going from 0 to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds.
Conclusion : the Karma represents a staggering achievement considering it is a start-up car from a start-up company.
Source: Autocar via YouTube
