CarBrandLogos archive · Fisker · 2011

FiskerKarma

A range-extended luxury saloon that looked extraordinary and lasted barely a year.

Photo: M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

The story

A defining chapter in Fisker history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Fisker Karma, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Henrik Fisker had drawn the BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin DB9 before setting up his own company, and the Karma's proportions show it: very long bonnet, cab pushed far back, a body so wide the rear track looks almost cartoonish, and a roof panel of solar cells. It was, by any reasonable measure, one of the best-looking saloons of its decade.

Fisker Sunset--DC · IFCAR · Public domain

Design and engineering

The engineering was ambitious in a different direction. The Karma was a series hybrid: electric motors drove the rear wheels at all times, and a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, bought from General Motors, worked purely as a generator to recharge the battery once its range was used up. There was a single-speed transmission and no mechanical link from engine to wheels. In 2011 that architecture was genuinely rare.

2012 Fisker EVer Karma EC · Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

Execution was the problem. Fisker had no factory, so assembly was contracted to Valmet Automotive in Finland. The car was heavy, the interior packaging suffered from an enormous battery tunnel through the middle of the cabin, and quality issues surfaced quickly. A battery supplier's failure led to recalls, that supplier then went bankrupt, and Fisker lost access to the parts it needed. Hurricane Sandy destroyed a large batch of finished cars awaiting delivery at a New Jersey port. The company had drawn on a US Department of Energy loan that was suspended when milestones were missed.

Fisker Karma Engine · Tuner tom · CC BY-SA 3.0

Legacy

Production stopped in 2012 after roughly two years, and Fisker Automotive went into bankruptcy in 2013. Its assets were bought by the Chinese group Wanxiang, which put the car back into limited production as the Karma Revero. The design has aged remarkably well, which makes the story harder rather than easier to read.

At a glance