Holy Cow!: Fisker Karma Weighs Over 5,000 Pounds

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

The Fisker Karma looks as sleek and and sexy as any four-door car on the market, but it’s got a secret: Spanx. Fisker’s powertrain sand battery suppliers tells the New York Times that prototypes of the series-hybrid Karma are weighing in at “over 5,000 lbs.” Says battery supplier A123 System’s Jason Forcier

It’s a pretty heavy car, but you have to look at all the technology, which includes a large gas engine, large electric motors and large batteries.

Fisker reps insist that the final product could come out weighing slightly less, but don’t hold your breath. Meanwhile the 50-mile EV range, 5.9 second 0-60 time and 125 mile top speed goals remain unchanged…. it will probably just feel lead-footed in the twisty stuff. On the other hand, by packaging its batteries in a low, central mass, Chevy’s Volt (the only other EREV on the market) actually handles fairly well for a nearly 4,000-lb compact. Still, “over 5,000 lbs” is full-sized SUV territory, and the Karma is being positioned as a green performance luxury car, not a chauffeured limo. Could this possibly end well?

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Garythompson Garythompson on Nov 15, 2010

    5000 lbs.? Sounds like some bad Karma...

    • SVX pearlie SVX pearlie on Nov 15, 2010

      What was the target weight? Like the Tesla, I'm curious to see where the numbers end up if/when it finally goes production.

  • Pb35 Pb35 on Nov 15, 2010

    It reminds me of a squished M37.

  • Vent-L-8 Vent-L-8 on Nov 15, 2010

    that is one sexy car, they were able to successfully pull off the grinning face better than others (Mazda) in the past.

  • Imag Imag on Nov 15, 2010

    Well if the company goes bust, hopefully Fisker will go back to doing what he does best: penning gorgeous automobiles. Other than the Karma's mustache, he has gotten as close to automotive design perfection as any designer in the last 30 years.

    • Wmba Wmba on Nov 16, 2010

      Yessir, I agree about the man's styling ability. He should spend an afternoon and restyle the entire Nissan and Acura lineups, then hawk the results at a silly high price to those mental styling midgets.

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