Fisker continues to take a steady stream of orders for the Karma, its hybrid four-seat supercar. In addition to the first 100, sold for £55,000 each, the company has more than 50 more orders with deposits.
The Karma goes into production in 2009, and company boss Henrik Fisker will be having meetings with two major car companies - at least one of them German - about partnering on the project immediately after the Geneva show. Fisker also needs to have selected the range-extending petrol engine that it will use in conjunction with the car’s electric drive. The Karma uses technology similar to that in the Chevrolet Volt, and if Fisker hits his on-sale target of 2009 he will beat mighty GM to market, albeit with a lower volume car.
Part of the reason for Fisker’s confidence lies with the car’s lithium-ion battery technology. “The battery works perfectly,” he said. “We’ve solved the temperature problem with a combination of chemistry and software. You have to control the battery, the generator, the electric motor and the petrol engine seamlessly.”
US military supplier Quantum has been working on the technology for four years, says Fisker, which is longer than the Karma has been under development. Fisker also revealed that the Karma’s interior will be reworked, by the designer of the current BMW 3 Series, who has recently joined the company. But the exterior design is frozen.