Zoomi Life

Fisker made some big splashes when their Karma Electric Sedan, which definitely gives Tesla’s Roadster a run for its money in style, debuted in a big way at a Detroit auto show. The car, designed by the famous Fisker Design Group in Irvine, California, in that incarnation was a hybrid-electric four-door sedan-styled sports car. It got rave reviews in several automotive magazines.

As a result of that, the limited edition model showcased at that show is now sold out. The company hasn’t even built them yet, but has a contract for manufacture and will be delivering the cars early in 2009. Those cars have impressive numbers, including the price tag.

For about $80,000, you get:

• 0-60 in 6 seconds
• 120mph+ top speed
• Regenerative brakes
• 40+ miles per charge

Those numbers are deceiving, though, since obviously other cars have big advantages and some of them with much smaller price tags. First and foremost, the car is aimed at the higher-priced luxury market of “dream consumers” (that’s a marketing term for high income people who like to spend money) and the 2010 model (now in pre-order, $1,000 deposit) has a production run of only 7,500 vehicles. A second run may be forthcoming if demand requires it.

The other deception there is the range. The car doesn’t have much for battery storage because it’s a hybrid, but not a hybrid in the Prius kind of way. It’s a hybrid which uses a very small gasoline engine to recharge, not to propel the vehicle.

Another interesting innovation on this vehicle is its solar roofing. Embedded in the rooftop of the car is a solar array that is capable of running the vehicle’s climate controls (even while you’re not in the car, you can leave the A/C running to keep it cool) and small electrical appliances. It can recharge the batteries, but only in a very limited way of course. A thermostat can be set and the car will keep an internal cabin temperature (provided there is enough sunlight to do so) indefinitely.

The Prius’ new model has this as an option as well, but the addition is just that and looks like one. It’s not integrated at all. The Fisker, however, integrates the design totally into the car so that unless you look right at the rooftop and are looking for solar cells, you probably won’t notice them.

Of course, Fisker is known for design and there’s a lot of that in this beauty. It’s looks remind me of a sleek, classic 1970s Corvette, like from the movie Corvette Summer with Luke Skywalker. Only without the cheesy music and ugly air intake baffles.

You can check out Fisker’s website here.

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Check out this video below of the Fisker Karma unveiling at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Video courtesy of Roadfly.com.