2023 Fisker Ocean on 2040-cars

Auto blog

New Fisker owner ready to go broke building EVs, challenging Tesla

Now this is the kind of fighting spirit we like to see. Lu Guanqiu is a Chinese billionaire who has visited the White House alongside Chinese president Hu Jintao in 2011. He's worth an estimated $3.1 billion. And he wants to take on Tesla Motors and other EV makers with his newly purchased company, Fisker Automotive. Lu is the chairman and founder of China's Wanxiang Group Corp., which bought Fisker for just under $150 million earlier this year. It also purchased battery supplier A123 Systems last year. Speaking to Bloomberg recently, Lu said that EV technology is at the top of his list of ways to go broke. "I'll put every cent that Wanxiang earns into making electric vehicles. I'll burn as much cash as it takes to succeed, or until Wanxiang goes bust," he said. Ahhh, inspiring. "I'll burn as much cash as it takes to succeed, or until Wanxiang goes bust" – Lu Guanqiu Exactly how and when new Fisker vehicles come to market - or if they'll even be Fiskers when they do – has been the subject of some debate. As part of the Fisker bankruptcy auction, Lu and Wanxiang now own an old, empty General Motors plant in Wilmington, DE. Lu told Bloomberg that Wanxiang has plans to first start building EVs, including the Karma plug-in hybrid, in the US (which suggests that restarting Karma production at Valmet is not going to happen) and to later build them in China. Right now, Lu's company only makes one type of electric vehicle: buses. Lu told Bloomberg he knows it will take a while to get his electric cars to market: "The road is still very long. We want to concentrate for now on manufacturing in the US. If I don't succeed, my son will continue with it. If he doesn't make it, my grandson will." Currently, emails sent to the "New Fisker" website are met with an automated response that promises a more personal touch later. It also says that the company is "very well funded and have a great plan to create a world class automotive company." That the new owner is ready to go broke doing so is not mentioned. You can read the New Fisker email and see a Bloomberg video on Lu below. Dear Fisker enthusiast, We at 'The New Fisker' would like to sincerely thank you for the email you sent via the website and greatly appreciate the time you have taken to reach out to the new company. The details of your correspondence are being reviewed by members of our devoted team, who are truly passionate about responding to you individually and personally.

Fisker unveils EMotion electric sedan's butterfly doors

Henrik Fisker runs a new company called Fisker Inc., founded after Fisker Automotive crumbled and the Karma electric sedan went to China to be resurrected as the Revero made by a company called Karma. Any new company needs a new product, and Fisker has it: the EMotion electric sedan, which will bring its 400-mile-plus range, four butterfly doors, and a tiny example of its "revolutionary" battery to next week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. We have about enough specs on the EMotion to fill a Post-It note, but we're told that the range comes courtesy of a whopping 143-kWh lithium-ion battery that can be re-juiced with a 125-mile range in nine minutes. Fisker Inc. had formed a joint venture with Nanotech to produce graphene batteries, but the JV fell apart. Fisker says the replacement li-ion batteries sourced from LG Chem employ proprietary module packaging to create "probably... the most energy dense battery pack in the world." The company won't be ready to divulge all of its battery and cooling secrets at CES, however, reps do plan to bring a cellphone-sized version to demonstrate the possibilities. Other innovations in development are an automated, hands-free charging connector. As for those doors, they take us back to the Savage Rivale Landyacht GTS, being butterfly portals all around, rear-hinged for the rear set. Not sure how practical they'll be, but they make the all-wheel drive EMotion look like nothing else - something the EMotion already didn't need to worry about. Fisker says the sedan's interior will be more spacious those of its competitors, with rear legroom exceeding that of "many full-size luxury sedans." Every seat gets viewing screens, and top speed rings in at 161 miles per hour. Fisker expects production to begin in 2019 somewhere in the US, and set the base price at $129,000. The order books are open now, with a $2,000 deposit securing your reservation. Related Video:

Fisker Ronin $385,000 electric convertible early details revealed

Announced in May 2022, the Fisker Ronin will be positioned as the young brand's flagship model when it goes on sale later in the 2020s. It's still under development, but Fisker released preliminary specifications such as range and pricing to give us a better idea of what to expect. New images of the Ronin show a low-slung convertible with two full-size front doors, a pair of smaller rear doors, and pronounced wheel arches that are reminiscent of the Karma. The front doors open in a butterfly fashion, like in many modern McLaren models, while the back doors are rear-hinged to facilitate the task of hopping in the back seats. And your eyes aren't deceiving you: the Ronin looks more like a sedan than a convertible in some of the photos. Fisker explains the model will come standard with a power-operated hard top. It describes the Ronin as "a sizeable vehicle" that's capable of seating up to five passengers and that offers "exceptional" cargo capacity. The driver will face a futuristic-looking steering wheel with what looks like an integrated instrument cluster, a digital dashboard that's not unlike the Hyperscreen fitted to some current-generation Mercedes-Benz models, and a 17.1-inch display for the infotainment system. Powertrain details are vague at best, and Fisker warns that the figures it's providing could change because the Ronin is a work in progress. As of writing, it plans to deliver a convertible with over 1,000 horsepower and approximately 600 miles of driving range from a battery pack integrated into the aluminum space-frame chassis. Composite parts, including carbon fiber wheels, will help offset the drivetrain's weight. If everything goes according to plan, the Ronin will reach 60 mph from a stop in 2 seconds flat and keep accelerating until 170 mph. Fisker claims it will build 999 units of the Ronin by hand, though there's no word yet on where production will take place. Pricing starts at $385,000, a figure that puts the convertible in supercar territory, and deliveries are tentatively scheduled to start in the second half of 2025. We're taking this date with a grain of salt: hitting deadlines isn't one of Fisker's strengths. It initially planned to deliver the Ronin in 2024. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery Fisker Ronin, preview images Green Fisker Convertible Electric