Filed under: Spy Photos, Hybrids/Alternative, Sedans/Saloons, Green
Spy shots: Fisker Karma makes an appearance in California
by Jeremy Korzeniewski on May 9th 2008 at 6:31PM 
Up until now, the Fisker Karma hasn't really been much more than a pretty face to go along with a promise. That changes today, thanks to a spy photographer who was lucky enough to catch the upcoming plug-in hybrid sedan out testing in California. Lawsuits often seem to have a dampening effect on enthusiasm, so it's good to see the Karma out and about. We can clearly see that the body is the same shape as what we all saw at its introduction earlier this year in Detroit. What we don't know yet is what's powering those shapely curves down the road. The first inclination from Autocar is that a Volkswagen 1.4-liter four-banger will provide power to the lithium ion batteries via a generator, but we really can't be sure what's being tested. Still, given the amount of electric know-how that Quantum Technologies, the electric powertrain supplier to Fisker, already has, we wouldn't be too surprised if something close to final-spec components were being run through their paces.UPDATE: For what it's worth, these photos were not captured by a photographer hiding in the bushes. They were apparently actually put out by Fisker's Beverly Hills PR agency Rogers & Cowan. We still don't know anything about the mechanicals of the car in question, only that Fisker is trying to generate some buzz.
[Source: Autocar via AutoblogGreen, Autoweek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Doug 6:35PM (5/09/2008)
HAHAHA, read this:
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080509/FREE/417248755/1049/rss01&rssfeed=rss01
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Toy Yoda 6:56PM (5/09/2008)
What's so funny about a journalist whining about PR spin? Happens all the time. The guy should just suck it up.
Toy Yoda 6:54PM (5/09/2008)
Love the looks. Fantastic looking. If Fisker is being sued because Tesla wanted their sedan to compete with the 5 series, than I can't see how the above pictures can be any case for Tesla.
The 5 series looks boring. And don't bash on me, I like BMWs. So if Tesla is complaining that their design is boring looking, it's because Fisker gave them what they wanted; a car that competes with the 5 on looks.
This car has the looks of a Maserati. A much more classier looking car. IMHO ofcourse.
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Marc-O 6:59PM (5/09/2008)
Huuhh ? I don't think you quite get what Tesla's "complaint" about the whole thing is...
HotRodzNKustoms 6:56PM (5/09/2008)
I'll be excited when a real company builds something like this.
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Marc-O 6:57PM (5/09/2008)
Yeah, this has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the well deserved problems Fisker is having... Nothing ! Argh.
Love that the PR firm camouflaged the car, as if it hasn't been seen a million times bare naked already. Super secret spy shots OMG !
I bet it's a nice shell bolted onto a ford focus frame or something. Or maybe a stretched Fiero ? Just kidding.
*shakes head at Fisker*
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Toy Yoda 7:04PM (5/09/2008)
I thought there were two complaints in the lawsuit.
1. Technology stealing.
2. Design of the Tesla sedan was not up to par in looks to a 5 series BMW or a $70k looking car.
My comment was on 2. As far as 1 is concerned, I can't see how that can hold weight either. It's not like electric cars were invented by Tesla. Fisker could have copied the electric design from a number of others, why would he risk it?
Quattrofan 7:51PM (5/09/2008)
There is no doubt Fisker is a talented designer but his character is that of a weasel.
He takes on a contract with Tesla and conveniently right after that tenure - his own electric sedan appears, with design way superior to anything that he penned for Tesla.
And that "camo'ed" Karma vaporware PR stunt is just lame. As beautiful as that design is, I hope Karma will never see the light of the day.
Like in Karma is a b..tch!
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Toy Yoda 8:01PM (5/09/2008)
I hope it sees the light of day. It's a fantastic looking car. From what I remember (from a blog post long ago...) is Tesla wanted a car design to compete with a BMW 5-series. This car looks way better than the 5 series. So if Tesla is complaining about that this is the car Fisker "stole", I can't see how, since it looks on par with a $100+k Maserati, or the yet to be released Aston Martin Rapide.
jake 12:09AM (5/10/2008)
Woah, easy there, don't draw conclusions until the lawsuit is actually over. As for this "spy shot" releasing, didn't realize that journalists were actually mislead to believe this was a genuine spy shot; I thought they knew all along. But the autoweek article made it seem the situation was different.
@Toy Yoda
Again we don't know any of the details; so who knows what kind of design Tesla asked Fisker to make? I agree that it will be hard to pin anything on Fisker even if the charges were true, esp since so little details on the Fisker is released and it will be hard to look for evidence of any copying technology. Looks are subjective too, so that's going to be a hard thing to pin on Fisker. But there is no denying the Fisker hybrid is pretty much direct competition for the Whitestar, where previously the Whitestar had no competition to speak of. Doesn't sound like Tesla included a clause in the contract to prevent that, but again we'll see more details as the lawsuit progresses; I agree people shouldn't draw any conclusions about the lawsuit until we find out more.
Scott Eaton 8:06PM (5/09/2008)
I still don't like the car, regardless of Fisker's character. I think it looks like the Joker's face. Not his car, his face. It's just that horrid grill - the rest looks okay.
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Michael D. 11:52PM (5/09/2008)
Looking good and moving forward!
One question: a couple of articles stated that Fisker wants to produce 15,000 units is the Karma - is that 15,000 units annual production, or 15,000 total?
I would want to see this go on successfully, and this is an original design, not a custom, yet tasteful, rendition of an existing sports or GT car.