2011 Fisker Karma
2011 Fisker Karma is a plug-in series hybrid using electric power to turn the wheels. The 22 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack, to be provided by A123 Systems, promises 50 miles of electric range. Irvine-based Fisker Automotive offers its four-door Karma electric hybrid as a premium-oriented, environmentally friendly sports sedan.
In friendly, eco-conscious “Stealth” mode, the Karma moves under electric-only power and can travel 50 miles without using the engine. Here, the Fisker Karma can accelerate from zero to 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 125 mph. Fisker estimates the total range at 300 miles.
Those figures are only reachable using Sport Drive, one of two modes the driver can select.
The 2011 Fisker Karma is at once an exotic sports car, a four-door and a plug-in hybrid. The Karma has an electric range of roughly 50 miles on a full charge, and an onboard gas engine and generator can then activate, allowing it to drive an extra 250 miles.
At 196.7 inches long, the Karma is about an inch longer than the Porsche Panamera and an inch shorter than the Aston Martin Rapide — both four-door sedans. Interior
The Karma's layout resembles the market's only other extended-range plug-in, the Chevrolet Volt. The centrally located 10.2-inch touch-screen, called the Fisker Command Center, incorporates audio, navigation, climate and other controls, similar to competing luxury and ultraluxury cars. Leatherette is standard. The EcoSport option package introduces genuine leather, which Fisker says comes from a sustainable plant powered by byproducts of the manufacturing process.
Under the Hood
The Karma's drivetrain, which Fisker calls Q-Drive, uses a 20-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack that powers two electric drive motors rated at 150 kW apiece. While the Karma can travel roughly 50 miles on battery power, with a zero-to-60 mph time of 7.9 seconds and a top speed of 95 mph, it can run quicker with a higher top speed when the engine and generator are engaged, too. Safety
The Karma has eight airbags, including two frontal and two knee airbags. Front occupants also get seat-mounted side-impact airbags, and there are side curtain airbags that cover the side windows, front and rear.
By the time former BMW designer Henrik Fisker took the wraps off the Fisker Karma—his low, sleek, plug-in hybrid sports sedan—in 2008, the media frenzy for more celebrated future electric drive vehicles was already in full swing. But Fisker's company kept its head down. Despite missing previous self-imposed deadlines, the company reiterated its commitment to bring the $96,000 400-horsepower four-seat plug-in hybrid to market as the 2011 Fisker Karma.
“There’s no rule written anywhere that a green car has to be ugly,” said Fisker, “or small, or uncomfortable. Like the vaunted 2011 Chevrolet Volt, the 2011 Fisker Karma is a plug-in series hybrid using electric power to turn the wheels. The 22 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack, to be provided by A123 Systems, promises 50 miles of electric range. The Karma’s “Q-Drive” system was developed from a system originally created for military applications by Quantum Technologies, which is a part owner of Fisker Automotive Inc.
Owners will still have to plug the Fisker into a standard 110-Volt or 220-Volt wall socket to recharge a depleted battery pack overnight.
Fisker also plans to offer buyers much larger photovoltaic solar panels to be mounted on roofs or a garage, so that owners can recharge their Karmas at least partly from solar power.
