2012 Fisker Karma

It is green car, the new Karma by Fisker’s engine there’s a 260-hp, GM-supplied four-cylinder engine spinning a mighty generator. Next in line could be a 21-kWh, American-made lithium-ion battery pack. Twin AC motors straddling the rear axle deliver 402 horsepower to the differential.

2012 Fisker Karma is equipped with the Brembo brakes, the 22-inch solid aluminum wheels, and also the aluminum suspension parts are supported by an aluminum area frame stitched in conjunction with 260 feet of welds and a thousand or therefore rivets. The Karma’s aluminum skin is finished with a solar-cell roof, a composite decklid, and plastic bumpers.

The Karma is usually electrically driven; the gasoline engine powers solely the generator. Slip into the elegantly tailored driver’s seat, interact “stealth” mode, and you’ll motor sedately to the long run with very little quite a hum from the powertrain. Tugging the “sport” paddle to the left of the steering wheel brings extra energy in grips.

When the gasoline engine kicks in to supplement the battery pack’s wattage—to trim the 0-to-60-mph run from a claimed seven.9 seconds to five.9, or to feature 250 miles to the driving range—the additional thrust is amid the whistle of a turbo spooling up, the snarl of angry exhaust gas, and a resonant boom or 2. Bent on fulfilling its mission, the generator set keeps growling even after you ease off the accelerator.