2023 Fisker Ocean One on 2040-cars

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Fisker introduces the $37,499 Ocean EV crossover ahead of CES 2020

Fisker unveiled an electric crossover named Ocean during a private event held before the model's official debut at CES 2020. Due out in 2022, the Ocean will compete in the same growing segment of the market as the upcoming Tesla Model Y and the recently-unveiled Ford Mustang Mach-E. The Ocean is the latest brainchild of designer Henrik Fisker, the same man responsible for the Karma (which is now known as the Revero) and the EMotion unveiled at CES 2018. It doesn't look like either of those cars, and it's more SUV-like than its aforementioned rivals. Fisker instructed his team to find ways to make the Ocean stand out in a rising tide of crossovers. Stylists came up with a handful of interesting features, like turn signal repeaters integrated into D-pillars, and solar panels integrated into the roof. Fisker explained motorists who live somewhere with good weather can generate about 1,000 miles of driving range annually by parking in the sun. Naturally, Seattleites need not apply. A thousand miles of range isn't much, but the firm argued it's a start. "We know this thing is improving, and we can then update it because we've already got the hardware," Fisker said during the unveiling.  While safety advocates celebrate the head-up display as a way to keep drivers focused on the road ahead, Fisker found a way to make the feature distracting by adding a karaoke function that presumably shows song lyrics next to the car's speed and navigation directions. We haven't seen the full interior yet, though we know it's made using sustainable materials like discarded fishing nets. There's also a California mode which lowers the six side windows, drops the rear window (like on an old American station wagon), and opens the sunroof at the push of a button to let the breeze in. The Ocean's powertrain consists of a lithium-ion battery pack with a capacity of about 80 kilowatt-hours, and an electric motor mounted over each axle for through-the-road all-wheel drive. Fisker quoted between 250 and 300 miles of driving range depending on driving conditions. Volkswagen-owned Electrify America will open its growing nationwide charging network to Ocean owners. Fisker expects to start Ocean production in late 2021, and deliveries are tentatively scheduled to begin in early 2022. Motorists who want to secure an early build slot still have time to send the company a $250 deposit.

Aston Martin sues Henrik Fisker over Thunderbolt design

Imitation is supposedly the sincerest form of flattery, but Aston Martin isn't blushing after taking a look at the Fisker Thunderbolt. The british luxury brand has filed a lawsuit against the designer for allegedly copying the company's designs without permission in a US District Court in California. Fisker unveiled the Thunderbolt at the at the 2015 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance as his own take on the Vanquish. The former Aston Martin stylist's changes included reshaping the grille, adding a power dome to the hood and incorporating wraparound rear glass. The version on display was a concept for the design, but the plan was to sell a slightly modified production version through Galpin Aston Martin. This lawsuit puts assembly in doubt. "This lawsuit centres on Henrik Fisker's creation and promotion of automobiles that Aston Martin contends infringes Aston Martin's rights, by an improper and unauthorised attempt to exploit and free-ride off them," said a portion of a prepared statement from the company emailed to Autoblog (embedded in full below). According to Bloomberg, the automaker claims in the suit that portions of the design, including "the famous Aston Martin mark, wings logo, side vent mark, and Vanquish mark" are being coping in Fisker's design. The business also calls the plan to change the design for the production version a "bait-and-switch." Fisker helped to shape the look of the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage during his time as a designer at the brand. "Today Aston Martin filed a lawsuit in the state of California to protect its valuable trade marks, designs and intellectual property rights. This lawsuit centres on Henrik Fisker's creation and promotion of automobiles that Aston Martin contends infringes Aston Martin's rights, by an improper and unauthorised attempt to exploit and free-ride off them. Aston Martin regards such conduct as wholly unacceptable and reserves all rights available at law to challenge it."

Fisker announces plans to build an electric pop-up Popemobile

Resurrected EV builder Fisker announced early Friday that it plans to build an electric Popemobile for Pope Francis based on its forthcoming Ocean EV. Fisker says it will deliver what it is calling the first all-electric papal transport vehicle next year ahead of starting series production of the Ocean. Fisker says company representatives pitched the idea to the Holy See in a private audience on Thursday. The announcement comes just days after a Biden administration official indicated that electrification of the presidential limousine dubbed "The Beast" is under consideration.  The presentation to His Holiness included the design sketch and renderings above. They're a bit on the quick-and-dirty side, but check out photoshopped Pope Francis in his little pop-up (Pope-up?) roof bubble thingy. D'aww.  "I got inspired reading that Pope Francis is very considerate about the environment and the impact of climate change for future generations," Henrik Fisker said in the announcement. "The interior of the Fisker Ocean papal transport will contain a variety of sustainable materials, including carpets made from recycled plastic bottles from the ocean." For now, this is a one-and-done project; Fisker did not announce plans to supply any additional EVs to the papal fleet. Hey, beats a Dacia Duster, right?