Rendered Guess: Fisker Karma Sunset Convertible Electric Car
Henrik Fisker and his California-based Fisker Coachbuild company have been in the news a lot lately, promoting their upcoming Karma extended-range hybrid electric sports-sedan. Recently, Fisker released a detail “teaser” shot of their upcoming Karma Sunset roadster - but freelance design firm KORS shows us what the whole thing might look like using their best guess.
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Commissioned by the offbeat, automotive news site Jalopnik to speculate on what the finished Karma Sunset roadster would look like, the independent KORSdesign studio created the rendered image shown above, which seems like a natural fit in Fisker’s existing line-up of Karma hybrid sedan and AMG-based Tramonto convertible (pretty much the opposite of a hybrid).
Simply: it looks right.
You should expect the car to be officially called the Fisker Karma S Sunset, and to feature the same plug-in lithium-ion batteries (supposedly good for 50 miles of fuel-free driving). The 2.0 liter turbocharged GM Ecotec gas engine (think Chevy Cobalt SS) will turn the generators and should allow for some extended range (insiders have told me the goal is 300 miles, similar to what is expected from the upcoming Chevy Volt, which uses a version of the same Ecotec gas engine).
One more fun fact: this will very probably be the first extended-range plug-in hybrid convertible from a US automaker that will be available for public sale (the Tesla is a pure EV).
Image credit: original artwork from KORSdesign.
The use of petrol based charging is a good interim solution to the problem of extended range. As long as we continue to move towards an all electric drive train as the norm in production vehicles, there can be continued research toward higher capacity energy storage batteries/capacitors etc.
The in-wheel electric motor assembly is the ideal solution due to it’s efficiency in transfering produced current from said storage, direct to the wheel with minimal losses due to the nearly zero drivetrain component count.
Solar PV will also play an important part in EV evolution. Developments in high efficiency solar such as black silicon will help EV’s charge themselves which would benefit users with limited access to external charging points not easily accessible in city’s such as London etc.
Imagine your city with no vehicle pollution? What will happen to all those people who suffer from Asthma?
We are on the right track and should look forward to the day when we can breath clean fresh air in our city’s by phasing out the use of internal combustion engines and the poisons they spew out.
For now they are a nessacery evil, but their time is coming to an end…
Ze, I’m not sure an all-electric drivetrain is an ideal solution, unless massive capacity issues are solved. Quite simply, even a car like the Volt (with a 300-mile effective range, according to GM) still means I can’t drive to my aunt’s in Atlanta (form Miami) in one day. A 300-mile range means a drive up to my cousin’s in Charlotte will take 3 days, instead of 1 (even if it 1 very loooong day!).
Until the day comes where I can drive an electric car as far as I want, and effectively charge it up within 30-40 min. (long enough for a lunch break, say) I think a bio-fuel/electric hybrid is the best choice.
As far as IC engines being a “necessary evil”, I’ve had enough friends’ and family member’s lives saved by big v8-powered ambulances that you’ll have a hard time convincing me of the so-called “evils” of IC engines.
I, for one, am happy that big horsepower is at least available to some people (now, that idiot driving ALONE in the Ford Excursion clogging up the hybrid/HOV lane this morning on my I-95 commute? THAT GUY does not need a big v8!!).
I am a firm believer in the all-electric drive train. If I can buy an electric vehicle that can maintain freeway speeds (80 mph) and has a range of 180 mi or more, I can drive that 99.9% of the time. When I need to go farther, I can rent a car for a few days, or in my case I’d rather fly. My wife has a 40 mpg hwy (measured) Yaris if I really don’t want to rent a car.
The Tesla Roadster, per their web site, supposedly has a range of 220 mi with a curb weight of 2,723 pounds.
So, if GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, or Subaru — with their volumes — can build a small car like the Chevy Aveo or Yaris that weighs say 2,500 lbs or less and has an improved coefficient of drag (better than their gas models), I am guessing they could attain a similar range. I believe people would buy them if the selling price were $35,000 or less, but lets do some math.
In Colorado, we get an 85% tax credit on the amount an electric vehicle exceeds the purchase price of a similarly-equipped gas vehicle. So, lets say a gasoline Toyota Yaris is $15,000. A pure-electric just like it costs $35,000. 85% of the $20,000 difference is $17,000. So, you pay $3,000 more for the electric vehicle. Lets say the Federal government gave a $10,000 tax credit for pure electric vehicles. In essence, consumers would save $7,000 buying an electric vehicle. The government could also provide a tax credit for all interest paid on the car loan to make it even more inviting.
Unfortunately the Colorado law changes on Jan 1, 2010 to where you only get 75% instead of 85%, and then goes away completely on Jan 1, 2012. If the car companies are going to leverage this to help seed the market, they better hurry up…
I`m not sure if my last submission was entered. So here it goes… How do I determine what my Colorado tax credit will be if I purchase a fully electric motorcycle for $8,000.00?