[Wimbledon]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12615160

Photo from Kilometer Magazine.

Follow the link above for quality photography from the rest of the show.

Notice the "EVer" branding now on the display. These photos are from the BBC:

Three years after it was conceived, Fisker Automotive's first car will go into production later this month.

The Fisker Karma, on display at this year's Geneva motor show, is an electric car that has been kitted out with a four-cylinder, petrol-powered, range-extender engine.

The Californian company initially hopes to sell 15,000 cars per year, chief executive Henrik Fisker told BBC News.

But over time, "we want to become a proper high-volume carmaker", he said.

"We'll eventually achieve sales in the hundreds of thousands," said Mr Fisker, who is a former Aston Martin and BMW designer.

'Responsible luxury'

Fisker Automotive will be the second company in the world to launch an electric car with a range extender, just a few months after General Motors' Chevrolet Volt went on sale.

Mr Fisker said he believes this puts his small Californian company well ahead of most of the competition.

"Everybody says they're going to do one, but talk is easy," he said.

The Karma is a much more luxurious car than the Volt, however, which the company hopes will make it a rival to high-end models from Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche.

"The whole idea behind the car was no sacrifice for the consumer in terms of styling, power or price," he said.

"We call this responsible luxury," Mr Fisker said, revealing that the Karma will be priced "close to the Porsche Panamera petrol-electric hybrid", which was also launched at the Geneva motor show on Tuesday.

The Karma starts at about 85,000 euros ($117,000; £72,000) with some models costing more, he said.

Hence, selling 15,000 cars could bring in close to $1.5bn in revenues, he reasoned.

As the company continues to expand the Fisker model range, it will also start making a medium-sized plug-in petrol-electric hybrid, dubbed Nina.

'Power, beauty and freedom'

According to Mr Fisker, there is a big difference between pure electric cars and those with range extenders fitted.

Range-extender cars have batteries too, as well as petrol-powered engines that drive a generator, which in turn sends power to the car's electric motor.

This overcomes the so-called "range anxiety" suffered by some electric car drivers, Mr Fisker said.

The Karma's lithium-ion battery is said to deliver a 50-mile range on a full charge. The range extender adds a further 250 miles.

The car's performance is said to be impressive; a 400bhp powertrain delivers nought to 60mph in less than six seconds and a top speed of 125mph.

"Cars are about three things: power, beauty and freedom," said Mr Fisker.

"You may be able to get power and beauty in an electric car," he said in an obvious dig at rival electric car company Tesla.

"But in a range-extender car, the knowledge that you can leave the city is freedom."

For this reason, Mr Fisker insisted, electric cars "will stay a niche for a long time", whereas models kitted out with range extenders could become mainstream.
Financing expansion

Fisker may not be the carmaker to make this happen, however.

It is supported by the US government through a $528m loan that is part of a federal energy programme which aims to support innovative automobile technologies.

In addition, venture capitalists have injected a similar amount, Mr Fisker said.

Even so, it may not be enough to achieve the sort of growth figures that the Danish entrepreneur is hoping for.

To achieve that, Fisker may well need to partner with a large automobile company.

 

[Dutch]

There is a nice series of pictures at this French autoblog:

http://www.leblogauto.com/zenphoto/salon/2011/geneve-2011/fisker-karma/fisker-karma_6.jpg.php

This colour, Deep Ocean, looks very good.

 

[brian]

Have there ever been any pictures of the all tan interior (I forget the color name). I'm leaning towards the black interior, but I'd like to see that tan one before I make my final decision. My dealer says they're taking and submitting orders to Fisker starting late next week.

-Brian

 

[Dutch]

That interior colour is called Dune Monotone. I haven't seen it anywhere yet.

Decision time is coming up fast now. Make, exterior colours, interior colours. Fortunately there are no options to choose from, the Karma is so complete already (a point ofted missed when journalists are comparing the price of the Karma to the competition. Most expensive cars have an options list longer than the car itself - including basic things - making cars that are only half as exciting costing more than a Karma).

But why is Earth only for Ecochic?!! It's my absolute favorite colour, aargh. :s

 

[Bandi]

Decision time is coming up fast now. Make, exterior colours, interior colours. Fortunately there are no options to choose from, the Karma is so complete already (a point ofted missed when journalists are comparing the price of the Karma to the competition. Most expensive cars have an options list longer than the car itself - including basic things - making cars that are only half as exciting costing more than a Karma).

you're right, Dutch
I think in this way

 

[brian]

But why is Earth only for Ecochic?!! It's my absolute favorite colour, aargh. :s

Agreed. Earth is the only "unique" color and I would get it if I could, but I'm not thrilled about paying more to get fake leather and that stupid leaf in the console.

I've decided on going with Silver / Black... a pretty boring combo for a $100k car, but oh well.

-Brian

 

[Dutch]

Amazing, that is exactly the choice I will (almost certainly) make! (with Earth not being an option). Silver looks boring on most cars, but not on this one.

The recent new videos of the Silver Wind-car have closed the deal for me, including this one form the dealer testing (which is a bit shaky):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9tVDFiMKAA

 

[jeroen]

Been there, loved it, bought it

 

[Hokiebird]

I agree with the discussion thread here that Silver appears to be the best. However, I have never seen the white, which really looks cool on a BMW Z, and I bet it would look sharp on the Karma. Seen almost all the others. The configurator doesn't do the car colors any justice and it would be nice if either the dealers, or Fisker themselves would post at least one real photo of each color, both exterior and interior so that those of us that have waited for 3 years can see what it would look like before we order. Got a note from my dealer in Carolina that we may lose our slot in the queue if we waited for the test drive, which in NC is slated for May. I hate to both lose my slot and choose the wrong color or interior. Hopefully someone on this site has an idea of how we can get pictures of all the car colors and interiors in the cars! Surely they've made at least one of each exterior color. By the way, the Earth was the color of the "tour" car when they went around last year, and we can't order it in Ecosport. One other note. The fabircator who was on the tour told me that the darker colors make the car look smaller and the lighter colors make it look more stretched. Just a thought for those who like the long sleek look of the Karma.

 

[Dutch]

Hello Hokiebord, welcome to this forum.

Some good observations there! I think white might also look good, and it's a pity this is still one of the missing colours on real cars we have seen. I know at least one and maybe two have been produced (small parts can be seen in pictures of the production line at Valmet). It would be nice if we could see some pictures of these cars. That must be something our dealers can arrange through Fisker.

It is true that the dark colours make the Karma look smaller and the light colours emphasize its size. The same effect dark and light clothes have. It's one of the reasons I will choose a light colour. In a dark colour, especially Eclipse, you also lose some of the nice detailing of the car, like the curves on the side and the diamond shaped air intakes on the front.

The car that went on a tour of the US last year was actually in Shadow, not Earth. The colours look alike, but Shadow is a bit more greyish and Earth a bit more brownish.

Shadow (US-tour):

Earth (at the track where journalists and dealers had test drives):

To make matters more confusing, also Deep Ocean can sometimes look like these two colours, at least in pictures (this one at the Paris Motor Show):

And this is exactly the same car and colour (!), look what difference the photographer can make:

 

[brian]

I bet the top photo of Deep Ocean is the accurate one because you can tell that top photo was white balanced. The bottom one appears not white balanced which tinted everything a bit blue, or at least brought out the blue more.

-Brian

 

[ct-fiskerbuzz]

I bet the top photo of Deep Ocean is the accurate one because you can tell that top photo was white balanced. The bottom one appears not white balanced which tinted everything a bit blue, or at least brought out the blue more.

-Brian

Yes, the bottom one is badly skewed towards blue / cyan.

Here's the result of some quick fiddling in Photoshop (the result is not great for two reasons, I don't have the actual original and I did not spend much time on it ):

(original)

(adjusted)

Me, I'm still leaning towards the more electric blue, with "canyon tri-tone" interior,

Chris

 

[jeroen]

The adjusted looks definitely more accurate. But from what I've seen the fisker paint colors actually change quite a lot under different lighting conditions.

Look also at some video footage and see it change when driving and the light angle change.

I shot the image below with my cell phone (not the best picture but), and with the spots there the car actually looked a bit more blue than the adjusted image above, but somewhat less blue than the image below.

In any event I loved the color and finally executed and ordered my car (in this color), on the showfloor...

 

[Dutch]

Mooie keus, Jeroen! (Nice choice, Jeroen!)

 

[Hokiebird]

Dutch,

Thanks for the clarifications on the colors. I would have sworn the one on the tour was Earth. Glad to know it's not. After looking at your pics, I too wish the Earth was available for the Ecosport line, as it is the most luxurious of the colors I feel. Just don't want to stretch the budget or deal with the tricolor interiors made of cloth. I have requested from the dealer a picture of a full production White car, but as you know, the dealers have not communicated very well in the past to those of us who've been waiting 3 years for this time to come. It's hard to believe the pictures of the blue above are the same. If the last one isn't the bright Laguna blue, not sure what that one will look like either. I am now torn between silver, red and potentially white if I can see a picture of it. White with the tan interior I think would look very nice. I'll let folks know if I hear of anything from the dealer on a white photo. [hr]
So Jeroen,

When you placed your order, what color was it, the Ocean Blue or the Laguna since you said it was the same as the picture you posted?

 

[jeroen]

When you placed your order, what color was it, the Ocean Blue or the Laguna since you said it was the same as the picture you posted?

It was/is Deep Ocean Blue...

I love the color, blue but nor too 'bright', more classic elegant, but still modern