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Almost $1 billion in claims filed against bankrupt Fisker

You may have scoffed when the US Department of Energy sold the rights to its $168 million outstanding Fisker Automotive loan to Hybrid Tech Holdings last December for just $25 million, or about 15 cents on the dollar. It turns out that might be the going rate for anyone with claims against the bankrupt extended-range plug-in maker, though. That's because Fisker, which declared bankruptcy in November, has generated $985.4 million in claims from 618 not-so-happy parties, Delaware Online says, citing a bankruptcy filing from last week. Fisker stopped making its sporty but troubled Karma in mid-2012. Wanxiang America won an auction for Fisker's assets, including its Delaware factory, for $149.2 million. That leaves $836 million, or about 85 percent of the collective value of the claims against the company. Naturally, Hybrid Tech Holdings, which was beaten out by Wanxiang in the bidding for the assets, has jumped in line to see if it can make good on what was formerly that DOE loan. The state of Delaware, where Fisker had acquired an old General Motors factory, is seeking $20 million stemming from some incentives it provided up front. And Finland's Valmet Automotive wants $8.5 million for its work with the company. Former Fisker employees say the company is on the hook for another $6 million, and none other than General Motors itself is claiming it is owed the same amount. Then there is the lawsuit we first heard about in December that was filed against Fisker and some of its executives who were collecting hefty paychecks while no cars were being produced. Add it all up and you get almost a billion dollars. Good times.

Fisker and Lutz hot-rod the Karma as V8-powered Destino [w/video]

You didn't think Henrik Fisker was done with the Karma, did you? The father of that stylish hybrid is returning to the design, teaming up with Bob Lutz and Gilbert Villarreal to transform the hybrid into an all-American, eight-cylinder performance sedan. As you may recall, Lutz and Villarreal formed VL Automotive a few years ago with plans to retrofit Fisker Karmas with Corvette V8s, calling the reworked product the VL Destino. Now Henrik Fisker has signed on to the project as head of design and product strategy, with Lutz serving as chairman and Villarreal as CEO under the newly renamed VLF Automotive. The joint plan calls for swapping the hybrid powertrain out of the Karma and replacing it with the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 from the previous Corvette ZR1. In stock form, the LS9 makes 638 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque. The VLF Destino is estimated to hit 60 in 3.9 seconds and top out at around 200 miles per hour. That will make it a world-class performance sedan capable of tangling with the finest imports, but will be retrofitted right here in America – in Auburn Hills, MI, near the Chrysler headquarters where Lutz once occupied the big corner office. VLF Automotive is showing the revised Destino at the Detroit Auto Show alongside the Force 1. We're trying not to get too excited about the prospect of a Fisker sedan with American muscle, as the Destino is slated to retail for $229,000 – which is even more than Aston Martin, for example, gets for the Rapide S or Porsche does for a Panamera Turbo S. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. VLF AUTOMOTIVE IS BORN A New American Luxury Sports Car Company Is Born Auburn Hills, MI January 8, 2016 - VLF Automotive, a new, US-based luxury sports car company, officially launches today through a partnership between legendary automotive designer Henrik Fisker, former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz and entrepreneur and manufacturer Gilbert Villarreal. Fisker is a VLF shareholder and third member of the executive management team alongside Lutz and Villarreal. "It's a circle," Lutz explained. "When Gilbert and I formed VL Automotive in 2012, we wanted to take Henrik's beautifully proportioned design, replace the hybrid gas-electric power train with a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 drivetrain, and create a bespoke four-door luxury car with outstanding performance.

The billionaire's passion behind Wanxiang's Fisker bid

If it weren't for billionaire Lu Guanqiu, founder of Chinese auto parts giant Wanxiang Group, the Fisker Automotive bankruptcy bailout deal might have closed earlier this month. Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li, along with Li's affiliate company Hybrid Tech Holdings, assumed their offer was going to be accepted. Instead, the US bankruptcy court judge called for an open auction bid for Fisker's assets on February 12. Lu made a few convincing points to the judge. There's another interesting part of the story that Lu didn't share it with the judge. If the Fisker deal doesn't work out, Lu and Wanxiang might increase their working relationship with Tesla Motors. Lu told US bankruptcy judge Kevin Gross that Wanxiang, which now owns Fisker's supplier of lithium batteries, A123 Systems, is better placed than Hybrid Tech Holdings to restart and expand production at Fisker. Better yet, Wanxiang could move production from Finland to the US. That was convincing enough for Gross to schedule the auction. Lu's move toward taking over ownership and restoring Fisker seems to be driven by two motivations: converting his company from a parts maker to an automaker; and to grow the yet-to-be profitable "new energy " business such as lithium battery and electric vehicle makers. For Lu, it's not so much about believing in Fisker – it's more about playing a leading role in electric vehicles – and that could come through deepening its connection to Tesla Motors. "Of course we want to pocket Fisker. But we will bid rationally," he said to Reuters. "Whatever the result, nothing can stop us from making electric cars." Check out more about Lu in this Reuters piece, including how he and six other farmers pooled together $500 in 1969 to start what would become Wanxiang. Featured Gallery Fisker Karma at Laguna Seca News Source: Reuters Government/Legal Green Fisker Tesla Electric wanxiang