Holy Cow!: Fisker Karma Weighs Over 5,000 Pounds
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?
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5000 lbs.? Sounds like some bad Karma...
It reminds me of a squished M37.
that is one sexy car, they were able to successfully pull off the grinning face better than others (Mazda) in the past.
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.