Fisker Karma Sunset Concept ?
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[Source:
Southeast Automotive Media Organization, Fisker]
PRESS RELEASES:
2009 Concept Vehicle of the Year
Award Winners Announced
DEARBORN, Mich.,
June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The eighth annual North American Concept Vehicle of the
Year Awards were announced this evening at the Automotive Hall of Fame.
Organized by the South East Automotive Media Organization, the awards recognize
those vehicles most likely to shape the future of the automobile industry. A
jury of automotive journalists selected the winners from 23 Concept Vehicles and
11 Production Preview Vehicles that debuted during the 2009 North American Auto
Show season.
A bellwether for the
auto industry's second century, Fisker Automotive takes the honor of 2009
Production Preview Vehicle of the Year with its Karma Sunset Concept. According
to juror Michael Bettencourt, "A company run by a designer should have beautiful
cars, concepts and prototypes. Henrik Fisker's firm certainly does the Fisker
Karma Sunset is just drop dead gorgeous."
The Karma will hit the road next year while the carmaker is seeking to create
a lower tagged, high-volume plug-in model that would eventually propel Fisker
into the mainstream of the car industry. The carmaker has applied for government
assistance with the DoE and if they are granted aid, the car could hit the road
in 29 months and could be developed in the Pontiac, Michigan facility of the
company.
First
seen at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show as a concept vehicle, the Karma S by Fisker,
is currently taking orders. It looks like the Karma S has received a favorable
media and public reaction hence the quickness by which it approved the car for
production.
Fisker requires a $25,000 deposit for the Karma S, which is about 4 times more than that required for the
Karma four-door plugin hybrid sedan. The price for the Karma S has not yet been
fixed, says Fisker. The first 250 units produced will be ?specially
configured,? and what that means is anybody?s guess. However, there are
understandings that these units will be designated as first-run cars and
possibly be denominated. The Karma S is a four-seater with a retractable hard
top and comes with a plugin hybrid powrtrain named Q-DRIVE by Quantum
Technologies. The Q-DRIVE permits the car to travel 50 zero-emission miles with
only one charge and up to 430 miles (692km) using its two 403hp (296kW) electric
powerplants. Deliveries will be seen in the later part of 2011.