Before Fisker Inc. went full EV (and subsequently bankrupt), Henrik Fisker previously designed cars for a company known as Fisker Automotive, which produced the Karma, an extended-range plug-in hybrid luxury sport sedan.
The front-engine, rear-drive four-door was motivated by a pair of 161-hp electric motors fed by a 20.1-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the battery’s charge was depleted or the driver selected Sport mode, a 260-horsepower, General Motors–sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine joined the mix, resulting in a combination that could get the Karma to 60 mph from a standstill in about six seconds.
With attractive styling, a posh interior, and more than 400 horsepower on tap, the Karma seemed poised to become the car that would change perceptions about hybrid vehicles. But Fisker Automotive dissolved almost as quickly as it had materialized, effectively ending the Fisker Karma’s brief production run at roughly 2,500 units. The Karma’s basic design, however, lived on as the Karma Revero under Wanxiang Group ownership.
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