Page 53 - ElectriCar Magazine

a sound barrier between the cabin and firewall so that even with the generator running, it remains a distant, somewhat discordant hum. Wind noise is extremely well managed with aerodynamics and a reasonably slippery 0.313 coefficient of drag. Even the massive 22-inch tires barely make a sound.
Acceleration is, as one would expect, very linear but nowhere near the launched-from-a-carrier feeling of the much more powerful, record-breaking Tesla Model S P100D. When Motor Trend tested the mechanically identical 2012 Fisker Karma, at 5,408 pounds, it was able to run from 0 to 60 mph in 6.0 seconds which is about the same as the last Lexus GS 350 F Sport in Sport mode and 7.1 seconds in Sustain mode, it will need about a second or two more to reach 60 mph in Stealth mode.
When we got to some twisting country roads, we could finally let loose the Sport mode and see what sort of premium- luxury grand tourer it was. The Revero’s electro-hydraulic steering effort is adjustable and the ratio varies only a little, between 14.5:1 and 16.1:1. Due to the almost 50/50 weight distribution, the Revero is able to initiate and sustain crisp turns, but there’s definitely a sense of weight in the car. At its claimed 5,400 pounds, the Revero is just 121 pounds away from the Ford F-150 Platinum 4x4 EcoBoost pickup. The front/rear control-arm suspension and beefy anti-roll bars do a good job of keeping the body motions in check. Tire specs; 255/35R22 front, 285/35R22 rear; and previous figures suggest that the Revero will
from the highly regarded Bridge of Weir in Scotland, the quick-acting 10.2-inch touchscreen only infotainment system has what seems like 10 times the processing power and is what Cadillac had hoped the ill-fated CUE system would be. Its graphics look like they came from Star Trek. The 12.3-inch- wide multiconfigurable driver display is equally impressive, but it falls just short of Audi’s benchmark virtual cockpit in terms of sophistication and capability. The Karma Revero is one of three truly connected cars available in the world with Tesla and Rimac being the others and uses Certicom which is owned by BlackBerry, cryptography as an added security layer within QNX-secured two-way data transmission. It can make software updates over the air. The Revero has an eight-speaker audio system with Bluetooth connectivity and three USB charging ports. On the safety front, the Karma has eight airbags and a lane departure warning system. Finally, in order to be sold in the United States, the Karma Revero has met Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA has not crash tested a Revero.
As said in the beginning, if things go where they appear to be headed, where internal combustion engines become EV range extenders, then the Karma Revero has a leg up on the competition. For now Karma is happily poised and ready to supply a third or fourth car to an ultra buyer looking to complement his or her collection of fine automobiles. It is
the kind of car that makes a statement when it arrives at the valet or country club parking lot. Judging from the unsolicited response and fielding dozens of questions, Karma knows its customer. It is an intriguing, alluring and unique luxury tourer that just might take us back to the future.
The Revero predecessor was first introduced by Fisker Automotive as the Karma in 2012. It was the only model produced by Fisker before it went out of business in 2013. The tooling for the
Fisker Karma was bought by Wanxiang in 2014. The tooling was moved from the factory in Finland to a new factory in Moreno Valley, California, USA. 2,667 Fisker Karmas were built before production was stopped.Karma’s current headquarters reside in Irvine, California.
Specifications
• MSRP $130,000 USD, 260 horsepower
4-cylinder turbocharged internal combustion engine
• 403 horsepower total power delivered at rear-wheels • 50 mile All-Electric range, 300 mile total range
• Solar Photovoltaic panelled roof
• 21.4 kWh LithiumIon Battery
• 10 hour charge time at 120 volts
• 24 minutes to eighty percent charge at quickcharge • 5.4 second 0–60 mph acceleration time
• 125 mph top speed
• 10.7” Touchscreen Infotainment car control center • Digital dashboard
• Apple CarPlay
grip the road in lateral acceleration.
We prodded the throttle very hard
in one corner and managed to access
the car’s prodigious torque, causing
the rear tires to howl and requiring
a quick steering check to manage the
mini slide. No doubt the limited-slip
differential was put to good use. It’s
also comforting to know the massive
brakes are sourced from Brembo, and
the regen feature has three levels of
deceleration to choose from. There’s
plenty of grip, control, and fun to be had even with the Revero’s road-hugging weight.
At a $131,400 base price, the Karma Revero has some pretty high zoot luxury sedan neighbors. The four-door, four-seat $209,825 Aston Martin Rapide comes to mind because of its similar proportions, with a similar-sized trunk, similar weight distribution (thus similar handling characteristics), and drop-dead looks. Its V-12 engine, however, will leave the Revero for dead. Another is the Maserati Quattroporte. Starting at $105,200 with a twin-turbo V-6 cranking out 404 hp, it will also dust off the Revero while accommodating one more passenger with even greater interior space. Finally, the Porsche Panamera starts at $86,050 with a twin-turbo V-6 and tops out at $185,450 with a twin-turbo V-8 hybrid. Somewhere in the middle, you’ll find a Panamera that’ll line up on price and there are a few more hybrid versions among the 15 variants. However, any Panamera will drive circles around the Karma. We could go on, include a BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and so on, but this is a very tough crowd to compete with in terms of price and performance.
Where the Karma Revero does compete with these world powers is inside. The Revero’s interior is impeccably tailored, trimmed, and well appointed. There are six interior collections with names such as Coronado and Crystal Cove; the name of the black/red car is the Palisades Sport, leather
JUNE 2020
Due to the almost 50/50 weight
distribution, the Revero is able to initiate and sustain crisp turns, but there’s definitely a sense of weight in the car
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