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Wanxiang wants to restart Fisker Karma production as quickly as possible

It appears that Wanxiang America's $149.2-million acquisition bid was about more than just owning the assets of Fisker Automotive. The Chinese auto parts maker is apparently serious about getting the Karma plug-in hybrid luxury vehicle back on the production line. "We will want to get the Karma back online as quickly as possible." "We will want to get the Karma back online as quickly as possible," Pin Ni, president of Wanxiang America, told The Boston Globe. More details will likely be released by Wanxiang now that US Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross has officially approved the purchase. Gross was satisfied that the purchase price includes a 20-percent stake in Fisker for creditors valued at $15 million – something that was not addressed by the original bids from Wanxiang and Hong Kong-based Hybrid Tech Holdings. Wanxiang also owns the maker of the Karma's lithium battery pack, A123 Systems. Creditors were delighted to see Wanxiang's bid, according to attorney William Baldiga, whose law firm represented creditors. "The value is six times what [Fisker] said it was worth when it filed for bankruptcy," Baldiga said, describing the negotiations as "two and a half days of yelling, screaming, bidding." In documents that Wanxiang filed with the federal court in January, Wanxiang mentioned a three-phase plan: building a hatchback version of the Fisker Atlantic (pictured above); restarting production of the Karma at Valmet in Finland, the plant where all the Karmas have so far been built; and then moving production to VL Automotive's manufacturing facility in Michigan. That means Bob Lutz, ex-General Motors vice chairman, could come back into the picture. In the first part of 2013, Lutz and Wanxiang tried to purchase Fisker. Lutz has as ownership stake in VL Automotive and wants to put small-block Corvette V8 engines into Karma bodies, calling the resulting vehicle the Destino. Wanxiang has said VL is the "soul of Fisker," so now that the company has the body, the revival can't be far behind. Featured Gallery Fisker Atlantic: New York 2012 News Source: The Boston Globe Green Plants/Manufacturing Fisker Electric PHEV a123 systems wanxiang karma

Will Bob Lutz's VL Automotive really offer V8 conversions for Tesla Model S?

VL Automotive is closely tied up with Fisker. The company's first product, the Destino, is a converted Karma and the Destino Red Concept, just unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, is the same hardtop Karma convertible that Fisker showed in 2009. So, what a surprise it was to see that Bob Lutz, who owns half of VL Automotive, is ready to convert a brand new electric vehicle: the Tesla Model S. A gas-powered Tesla? Say what? A gas-powered Tesla? Say what? That's at least one way to read this short article in The Detroit News. There's not a lot of context and a distinct lack of details, so we're left wondering if maybe Lutz just meant that Model S owners can buy a Destino. You can read the exchange for yourself here. What we do know is that Lutz said that VL Automotive has already sold nine Destino conversions. The cars cost $200,000, up from the previous estimate of $180,000, and well above the $116,000 max price tag on the original Karma. For your money, you get a 6.2-liter V8 taken from a Chevrolet Corvette that puts out 636 horsepower and can beat the 135-mile-per-hour top speed that the Karma has. Lutz said that all could add up to sales of around 200 or 300 Destinos each year. Featured Gallery VL Destino Red Concept: Detroit 2014 View 21 Photos News Source: The Detroit News via Green Car ReportsImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Green Detroit Auto Show Fisker Tesla Electric Hybrid PHEV vl automotive destino

Luxury EV Fisker Emotion revealed at CES 2018 in Las Vegas

Tesla has real competition as Fisker unveils EMotion at CES 2018. EMotion has a range of over 400 miles with a top speed of 161 mph. The luxury EV includes a fast charging feature that gives you 125 miles of range after 9 minutes of charging. For more coverage of CES 2018 head over to https://www.autoblog.com/tag/ces+2018/ CES Fisker Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video electric sedan