Detroit Auto Show: Fisker Karma Luxury Hybrid, Only $80,000S

The big news today is the Fisker Karma Luxury Hybrid, which is going to come at $80,000 and deliver luxury style, GT performance and eco-friendliness. And this isn't a flight of fancy. This is a production model that will be produced in the fourth quarter of 2009 with venture capital funding by Kleiner Perkins, who made big investments in Netscape and Google at the right time that later turned into big victories. A true lithium-ion plug-in hybrid, the electrical system is good for 50 miles of electric-only driving in stealth mode. Otherwise, the second mode of the hybrid system involves a performance-oriented four cylinder engine. The company currently puts the performance at 5.8 seconds 0-60 mph with a top speed of 125 mph (continuous). Interestingly, we also got photos of Mark Fields chatting it up at the Fisker display before the reveal. Old friend, new partner — or maybe a mullet potential curious onlooker attempting to find out more about what's going on under the hood?




According to the handout passed around by Fisker, the company is ready to start taking pre orders at only $1,000 (they take Visa). If you want the "premium version," which was shown on the floor of the DAS in the exclusive color with signed plaques you're going to have to put down $5,000. But whether this is a resounding success or a huge failure, that $100,000 plaque could help you earn back the value.