IRVINE, California — The Fisker Karma made its running public debut in late August at the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, and now the company has announced that the vehicle will get 67.2 miles per gallon and emit just 83 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. The plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid will appear at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show and is slated to go on sale in May 2010 with a starting price of $87,900.
The mpg figure was determined using calculations developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), not the EPA. Henrik Fisker was quoted in Monterey as saying that the powertrain is expected to deliver fuel economy of more than 100 mpg during official EPA testing. That means the sales of 15,000 Karmas a year through 2016 would save at least 248 million gallons of gasoline and 2.5 million tons of CO2 emissions.
Fisker also estimates that fueling the sedan would cost around 3 cents per mile when it is in Stealth mode, when it uses 21 kilowatt/hours per 100 kilometers (62 miles). A real-world estimate would be closer to 7 cents per mile, considering the average driver would use a mix of the Stealth and gasoline Sport mode.
The Karma uses two electric motors to make 403 horsepower and 959 pound-feet of torque, giving it a range of 50 miles on electricity alone. A 260-hp four-cylinder engine from GM kicks in after that and works to recharge the 200-kilowatt lithium-ion battery pack. Performance is estimated at a 6-second 0-60-mph time and a top speed of 125 mph.
Inside Line says: It's harder to gauge fuel economy when you are working with an electric powertrain, but it will still be interesting to see the official EPA ratings. — Mike Lysaght, Correspondent
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