Right Lane Cruiser
08-17-2009, 07:46 AM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg 40% of the vehicle weight according to Fisker is in the drivetrain. (http://wot.motortrend.com/6570045/future/fisker-karma-plug-in-hybrid-takes-to-the-track-at-laguna-seca-raceway/index.html)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Fisker_Karma1.jpgRory Jurnecka - MOTORTREND (http://wot.motortrend.com) - August 15, 2009
A 5000lb car is quite hefty... but you can't deny the car looks really good! --Ed.
As most of the cars at the annual Historic Automobile Races this weekend at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California enter the track with bellowing, crackling exhaust notes and the heady aroma of spent high-octane gasoline, it was quite a revelation - and a welcome refrain - to see Fisker's eerily silent Karma sedan prototype glide silently out of its holding tent and onto the legendary race circuit at the turn five track entrance. Emitting neither pop, gurgle, or shriek, the Karma zoomed up the hill towards Laguna Seca's famous "Corkscrew" steep downhill left-right combination corner, and continued on for a full lap of the race track as legions of died-in-the-wool car guys (including Jay Leno) looked on. The lap marked the public driving debut of a car that had its fair share of skeptics - still, a brief post-lap conversation with company founder Henrik Fisker revealed that the car is still on track for a May 2010 showroom launch.
Yes, according to Fisker, you will be able to buy the swoopy plug-in hybrid sport-luxury sedan you see in these photos around the middle of next year. Fisker noted that the car is currently scheduled for official U.S. Government crash testing in the coming weeks, though official EPA fuel economy ratings may still be a while off. And what might that rating be? For now, Henrik Fisker is content to say that the Karma will be capable of "well over 100 mpg." But in light of the EPA's recent rating of 230 mpg for the upcoming Chevy Volt, Fisker believes that a rating of up to 140 mpg may be possible. It all depends on whether a new standard for EPA testing of plug-in hybrid vehicles comes into play before the Karma is subjected to the procedure.
Still, Henrik Fisker is to-the-point when the goals for his designer hybrid are discussed.
"We're not out to break any records," Fisker told us in Monterey. "We're building a sexy, good-looking car that you can drive every day like your 7 Series [BMW] or your CLS [Mercedes-Benz]."
After returning from the track, the Fisker Karma drew quite a crowd in Laguna Seca's infield, with Henrik lingering to chat with curious by-standers about the attention-getting sedan. That sedan, of course, features a lithium-ion battery pack and two electric motors that produce a combined total of 408 hp and a breathtaking... http://wot.motortrend.com/6570045/future/fisker-karma-plug-in-hybrid-takes-to-the-track-at-laguna-seca-raceway/index.html
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Fisker_Karma1.jpgRory Jurnecka - MOTORTREND (http://wot.motortrend.com) - August 15, 2009
A 5000lb car is quite hefty... but you can't deny the car looks really good! --Ed.
As most of the cars at the annual Historic Automobile Races this weekend at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California enter the track with bellowing, crackling exhaust notes and the heady aroma of spent high-octane gasoline, it was quite a revelation - and a welcome refrain - to see Fisker's eerily silent Karma sedan prototype glide silently out of its holding tent and onto the legendary race circuit at the turn five track entrance. Emitting neither pop, gurgle, or shriek, the Karma zoomed up the hill towards Laguna Seca's famous "Corkscrew" steep downhill left-right combination corner, and continued on for a full lap of the race track as legions of died-in-the-wool car guys (including Jay Leno) looked on. The lap marked the public driving debut of a car that had its fair share of skeptics - still, a brief post-lap conversation with company founder Henrik Fisker revealed that the car is still on track for a May 2010 showroom launch.
Yes, according to Fisker, you will be able to buy the swoopy plug-in hybrid sport-luxury sedan you see in these photos around the middle of next year. Fisker noted that the car is currently scheduled for official U.S. Government crash testing in the coming weeks, though official EPA fuel economy ratings may still be a while off. And what might that rating be? For now, Henrik Fisker is content to say that the Karma will be capable of "well over 100 mpg." But in light of the EPA's recent rating of 230 mpg for the upcoming Chevy Volt, Fisker believes that a rating of up to 140 mpg may be possible. It all depends on whether a new standard for EPA testing of plug-in hybrid vehicles comes into play before the Karma is subjected to the procedure.
Still, Henrik Fisker is to-the-point when the goals for his designer hybrid are discussed.
"We're not out to break any records," Fisker told us in Monterey. "We're building a sexy, good-looking car that you can drive every day like your 7 Series [BMW] or your CLS [Mercedes-Benz]."
After returning from the track, the Fisker Karma drew quite a crowd in Laguna Seca's infield, with Henrik lingering to chat with curious by-standers about the attention-getting sedan. That sedan, of course, features a lithium-ion battery pack and two electric motors that produce a combined total of 408 hp and a breathtaking... http://wot.motortrend.com/6570045/future/fisker-karma-plug-in-hybrid-takes-to-the-track-at-laguna-seca-raceway/index.html