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Bob Lutz predicts Fisker-based VL Destino will world's fastest sedan [w/video]

Ever look at an EV or a dedicated hybrid and wonder what it'd be like with a conventional, high-output V8 under the hood instead of all those batteries and circuit boards? Bob Lutz and Gilbert Villareal did when it came to the Fisker Karma. The result is the Destino from VL Automotive – a vehicle that Lutz says could be the fastest sedan in the world. The Destino was born like a phoenix rising from the ashes of Fisker Automotive and its shapely Karma – an aborted and very costly attempt at making a dedicated hybrid luxury sedan, undertaken by noted automotive designer Henrik Fisker. The project ultimately faltered, but Lutz and Villareal formed VL Automotive to pick up the pieces and put it back together. Only when they did, they got rid of the hybrid propulsion system and replaced it with the 6.2-liter supercharged LS9 V8 from the previous Corvette ZR1, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. With 630 horsepower, a svelte shape and 1,000 pounds trimmed off the curb weight, the VL Destino is expected to top out at or around 200 miles per hour. According to Lutz in his article for Fortune magazine, that would make it "among the fastest four-door cars in the world," but in the accompanying video below, he goes even further to say that the the Destino "most likely will be the world's fastest four-door sedan." To claim the top honor, though, it'll have to vanquish the 204-mile-per-hour Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat – another four-door sedan with a supercharged V8 made by an American automaker... one over which Lutz used to preside, no less. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Wanxiang wins bid for Fisker at $149.2 million

Fisker Automotive has been sold, ladies and gentlemen. According to Automotive News, Wanxiang from China won the company after a few tense days of bidding between it and Hybrid Tech Holdings from Hong Kong. The winning bid came in at $149.2 million, which, rather interestingly, is almost six times the amount Fisker itself sought to recover from bankruptcy. That bid includes $126.2 million in cash and $8 million in assumed liabilities, and it came after 19 rounds between Wanxiang and Hybrid Tech. Wanxiang also owns the company that supplies batteries, or at least would supply them if and when the Karma goes back on sale. While all this seems pretty official, it still needs to be approved by US Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross, who has scheduled a hearing on Feb. 18 in Wilmington, Del. Featured Gallery 2012 Fisker Karma: First Drive View 23 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Government/Legal Green Fisker Electric Hybrid wanxiang

Hybrid Tech just made $65 million from bankrupt Fisker loan

We can now see at least one possible reason for why Hybrid Tech Holdings LLC bought the US Department of Energy's loan to Fisker Automotive last year for $25 million. The purchase is apparently worth $90 million today. The number is part of a settlement agreement that has come out of the company's asset auction which was won by China's Wanxiang Group Corporation in February for $149.2 million. Hybrid Tech said that the secured DOE loan it owned was worth all of that $149.2 million, but the new agreement says that Richard Li's company is due $90 million instead. The rest of the money will be divvied up between the unsecured creditors (who will split $20 million plus $15 million in equity in Wanxiang affiliates) and "priority claim holders" ($8 million). Delaware media has been interested in the case since Fisker bought an old General Motors plant near Newport and now reports that the state does not expect to get a whole lot back from its $20-million investment. Fisker filed for bankruptcy in late 2012. The asset auction is officially known as "In re Fisker Automotive Holdings Inc., 13-bk-13087, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington)."