2023 Fisker Karma One - Launch Limited Edition on 2040-cars

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Fisker will borrow $5M from Wanxiang as interim solution

It may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the approximately $1 billion in liabilities bankrupt automaker Fisker Automotive has against it, but every bit helps. In this case, it's a smidgeon less than $5 billion. That's how much the maker of the Karma extended-range plug-in is getting approved to borrow from its presumed future owner, Wanxiang Group. It's a start. A US bankruptcy court judge said Wanxiang could loan Fisker $4.98 million for interim financing purposes while the China-based company waits to get antitrust clearance from the US government to buy the now-dormant California-based company, Bloomberg News says. Fisker is seeking another $10.5 million in loans via a debtor-in-possession loan. After that, things get real interesting as everyone from the state of Delaware to General Motors to Finland's Valmet Automotive and more than 600 other entities have gotten in line to collect on what's alleged as $985.4 million in debt. Last month, Wanxiang won a bid against Hong Kong-based Hybrid Tech Holdings for Fisker, which hasn't made any Karmas since mid-2012. Wanxiang will pay $149.2 million, including $126.2 million in cash and $8 million in assumed liabilities, for Fisker. The automaker filed for bankruptcy last November and Wanxiang bounced the company back as the The New Fisker this week.

The $130,000 Fisker EMotion can be reserved for just $2,000

Just as Tesla did with the Model 3, Fisker is taking reservations for its upcoming EMotion electric sedan at its website. Deposits for the Fisker are a bit pricier than those for the Model 3, though, at $2,000 per reservation. Model 3 deposits were half of that. Of course, at a base price of $129,900, the EMotion is also about three to four times more than the target cost of the Model 3. There's also an interesting stipulation with reserving cars: Only three are allowed per person. We're not really sure why someone would need to order sizable batches of any car, but maybe it's just going to be that good. View 14 Photos The previously revealed specifications are certainly ambitious. Fisker says the car will be capable of going 400 miles on a charge, and that it will be able to pick up an extra 100 miles in 9 minutes of charging on a proprietary charging system. The car features autonomous technology, too, and some of the sensors are smartly hidden in the front chrome "grille." That faux grille and other styling details are all on display in an array of new photos and a video, all of which are shown above. The video shows the car in great detail as it slowly cruises past the overt "green" imagery of windmills and solar panels. Related Video: Image Credit: Fisker Green Fisker Green Automakers Technology Emerging Technologies Electric Luxury Sedan

Fisker Ronin actually a four-seat convertible

When Fisker Automotive released an image of its planned Ronin battery-electric vehicle, the closed roof, Karma vibes and non-specific press release led everyone to believe it was a four-door sedan targeting an array of impressive specs. Turns out the Ronin is a four-seat convertible, making at least one of those specs even more impressive if Fisker hits it. Instead of the "over 550 miles of range" in the initial release, Henrik Fisker clarified that the Ronin's shooting for 660 miles of range on the WLTP cycle. That would beat anything on sale today even after converting to EPA figures, but the Ronin isn't due for its first deliveries until 2024. We also expect that mileage figure is a top-up number only; in view of all the turbulent air created behind a convertible's windshield, top-down mileage may vary considerably.  Fisker's quote that he wants the Ronin to have "the world's longest range for a production EV, combined with extremely high levels of performance" and be "a showcase for our internal engineering, powertrain and software capabilities" still holds true. Last year, the company opened a development facility in the UK called Magic Works, run by David King, formerly in charge of special vehicles at Aston Martin. King's team is working on making a cabriolet boulevardier that also evokes "a proper British sports car." Special features will include "unique doors for better ingress and egress," necessary because of the lack of a B-pillar. That quote from the automaker boss leads us to suspect the Ronin is the evolution of the Fisker EMotion (pictured above; yes, that's how it's spelled) luxury sedan the company took to CES in 2018. Chop the top off the EMotion, anchor the rear doors in the rear fenders instead of the C-pillar, and voila, a Ronin. That's all just a guess, though. What's not a guess is that Magic Works is working on special features like a battery integrated into the vehicle structure, powering a three-motor drivetrain able to get the Ronin to 60 miles per hour in under three seconds. That sprint would take the same time Wiesmann predicts its two-door, two-seat Thunderball to hit the same mark.