Karma wows Shanghai with one production car and two concepts

Karma kind of dropped off the radar there for a couple of years. After all its troubles in its original form as designer-turned-carmaker Henrik Fisker’s baby, it was followed by bankruptcy, then purchase and then … radio silence.  You could be forgiven for wondering what happened to the once-promising luxury hybrid maker.

Well what happened was it was working on its own rebirth. The Karma production facility in Moreno Valley, California, has been quietly cranking out Karma Revero hybrid sedans and tooling up for a refreshed model with new looks and a new powertrain. There are also plans for electric models, though exactly when is not clear. At Shanghai this morning, Karma revealed a couple of cool concepts and a new Revero:

  • The heavily revised 2020 production model of the Revero
  • A Pininfarina-styled GT Coupe
  • A long, cool electric roadster concept called the SC1 Vision that looks like something a sexy supervillain would drive in a Marvel movie

SC1 Vision roadster

The SC1 Vision is the definition of lithe and svelte. Karma calls it a signpost to its future, “one that recognizes and embraces full electrification.”

Details on the car’s electric drivetrain were scant, but the looks were solid. The SC1 Vision roadster touts not only the future of Karma styling, but “…the brand’s future direction based on full BEV offerings at the company’s core.”

Karma’s future will include heavy customization per buyer’s orders, for each car, and the SC1 Vision was intended to demonstrate that.

“At the core of SC1 Vision Concept’s technological suite is a new infotainment architecture with 5G connectivity as well as a humanized communication system, which integrates touch, voice, eye, and graphical interfaces to enable seamless interaction with the roadster,” a company statement said.

Pininfarina GT Coupe

The Pininfarina GT Coupe, meanwhile, was styled on the coming 2020-model Karma Revero.

“The Pininfarina team took a new 2020 Revero GT, retained fundamental engineering parameters and then crafted a new body style, panels and interior, offering an alternative design interpretation,” Karma said.

It is the first result of a partnership with Pininfarina, which sounds promising.

Does that mean we’ll see a coupe version of the 2020 Revero? Seems likely.

 

2020 Revero GT

The 2020 Revero GT will be in dealer showrooms in September. It’s a fully revised, almost-all-new version of the current Karma. Karma has been manufacturing the current Revero, based on the original Fisker Karma, for two years now. The new model builds on that, with a new shape that is perhaps most notable in the grille opening. While the basic spaceframe remains, the front and rear extruded aluminum crush zones have been redesigned. Efficiencies throughout the car lower its curb weight by 400 to 500 pounds, Karma claims. Gone is the slightly raspy, overly loud GM four-cylinder gasoline engine, replaced with a quieter, more efficient BMW TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder that powers an onboard generator. The new car will launch from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and has a range of 360 miles, 80 of which can be accomplished on battery power alone. It’s even good for HOV stickers in California and elsewhere. The car will still be a hallmark of exclusivity since, despite Moreno Valley’s claimed 10,000-per-year plant capacity, production is aiming for a quality-controlled 500 a year for the time being.

Karma the company

“We’ve made great strides during the last five years,” said Karma’s CEO, Dr. Lance Zhou. “We created a real, living car company that’s been building cars for actual customers for two years; we have 19 dealers in the U.S., Canada, Chile and Egypt; we have new products coming in a few short months; we have a clear path forward and strong funding.”

That strong funding comes from Wanxiang Group, the largest auto parts supplier in China with distribution all around the world. The facility in Moreno Valley, officially known as the Karma Innovation and Customization Center, or KICC, is over half a million square feet in size. Karma employs 1,000 people worldwide and 200 in Moreno Valley. Though specifics weren’t laid out, Zhou said future plans call for production of a new coupe, convertible and crossover. He said a new platform is due in 2021 and that every Karma platform will have a coupe, convertible, sedan and crossover. While the future of the company is electric, Zhou said Karma will continue to produce hybrids at least until 2030 or even 2040 because, “…the charging network will not be in place yet.”

So there are big plans from this little company; the cars here look cool and with backing from such a big company as Wanxiang, why not dream big? We look forward to a test drive of the 2020 Revero soon.

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