Fisker’s Karma gets reincarnated with fire-breathing V8, hybrid models

By Joe Mahan Published February 21, 2014

Fisker Atlantic — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Fisker Karma has been passed around like a stray dog. It goes from place to place, leaves a mess, has accidents, and then finally ends up with a loving owner who gracefully nurses it back into shape.

Now it seems there’s some semblance of reality for the bankrupt automaker, as it has been purchased by Chinese giant automotive supplier Wanxiang. Wangxiang now has the tough task of essentially performing open heart surgery on the Fisker to give it a reboot. Its first live-breathing move is to offer the Karma in both plug-in hybrid and V8 models.

Recommended Videos

According to Reuters, this sleek and fantastic looking four-door will no longer be the silent green missile it was originally designed to be. Instead, it will be a rip-roaring and rare luxury sedan powered by a Corvette engine.

Sound familiar? It should. It’s essentially the car VL Automotive has been making from the carcasses of croaked Karmas for years, called the Destino. Don’t worry, Wangxiang’s Fisker isn’t simply ripping off the VL Automotive’s idea. It’s conscripted the help of former General Motors exec and current VL Automotive Chairman of the Board Bob Lutz to head the project.

I just hope that the reborn hybrid-powered Karmas are better than the last iteration. Henrik Fisker might have made a gorgeous-looking car, but he did a mediocre job designing a hybrid system, to say the least.

Now that Fisker is owned by Wanxiang, I hope to hear the whistle of a supercharged V8 howl past me in the near future, especially from a car that was once a prismatic-fluid-leaking hybrid.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Joe Mahan is an intern at Digital Trends working in the Cars section. He is currently a Junior at the University of Portland…

Cars

Never mind slowing sales, 57% of drivers will likely have an EV in 10 years

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have slowed globally over the past few years. But should EV makers cater more to the mainstream, it’s likely that 57% of drivers will have an EV in 10 years, consulting firm Accenture says.

Last year, nearly 14 million EVs were sold globally, representing a 35% year-on-year increase. But it was much slower than the 55% sales growth recorded in 2022 and the 121% growth in 2021.

Cars

I spent a week with an EV and it completely changed my mind about them

The Cupra Born VZ seen from the front.

After spending a week with an electric car as my main vehicle, opinions I’d formed about them prior to spending so much time with one have changed — and some quite dramatically.

I learned that while I now know I could easily live with one, which I wasn’t sure was the case before, I also found out that I still wouldn’t want to, but for a very different reason than I expected.
Quiet and effortless

Cars

Trade group says EV tax incentive helps U.S. industry compete versus China

ev group support tax incentive 201 seer credit eligibility

The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA), a trade group with members including the likes of Tesla, Waymo, Rivian, and Uber, is coming out in support of tax incentives for both the production and sale of electric vehicles (EVs).

Domestic manufacturers of EVs and their components, such as batteries, have received tax incentives that have driven job opportunities in states like Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, and Georgia, the group says.