2012 Fisker Karma – Electric Luxury Sports Car

With all the media surrounding Justin Beiber being chased by the paparazzi in his all chrome Fisker Karma, we thought we’d take a break from writing about JB and talk about something interesting… his car.  JB’s chromed car is the 2012 Fisker Karma.  It’s advertised as “the first true electric luxury vehicle with extended range”, noticing particular to the point that they don’t mention it to be a sports car.

First off, there’s no doubt about it, the car is sexy… we get it! With ultra sleek lines, a low center of gravity, and rolling on huge 22″ wheels, it a wet dream recipe for any 16 yr kid. This shouldn’t be of any surprise to people who know who Henrik Fisker is, afterall, he was the one who designed the new BMW z8 and the Austin Martin Vantage and DB9.

For me, the disappointment comes in it’s performance.  When reading the stats of the car and translating it into numbers we are familiar with, i.e., hp/torque,  it would be easy to assume that this car would be a beast on the road.  For example, they claim 403 hp and 959 lb/ft of torque at 0 RPM… holy f#$k!  However, keep reading and you will see it takes 6.3 secs to hit 60 mph with a top speed of 125 mph, wtf?! Compare this to the electric Tesla Roadsters which is hitting 0-60 in the high 3′s, it’s no wonder they are marketing this as a “luxery vehicle” and not anything more.

With a $100,00 starting price, we were expecting numbers near exotic sports car range… and not barely outing the new Hyundai Sonata 2.0 Turbo we tested earlier.

To be fair, there are alot of premium goodies found in the Karma like its solar rooftop, big Brembo 6-piston brakes, and it’s methods to be “green”, but to be honest… who cares if it can’t back up it’s looks with performance!

What do you think?  Would you pay $100k for a Fisker Karma?