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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 becomes Karma Automotive

Meet the new boss. It's not the same as the old boss. This is the new Fisker Automotive, which has just changed its name to Karma Automotive. The new Karma Automotive says that this name has always been a part of the brand. On the company's new website (which you can access from either the new karmaautomotive.com URL or the previous URL, thenewfisker.com), it says that, "It's a name that respects our past, while simultaneously reinventing our future." That future theme is splashed across the new site. Here's more from the "Why Karma?" section: "We don't have to do things as anyone has done them before. What's important is that we act with intention." As for the company's new logo, there's a hidden message. The new emblem has, "An imperfect ring, representing constant effort towards unattainable perfection, encircling the earth. With a spark of sun, the eternal symbol of endlessly renewable energy. Inner cut lines represent our three brand priorities." Those priorities are to be beautiful, clean, and memorable. Of course. As we learned back in 2014, the logo for Fisker Automotive was the property of Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, and was used under license by Fisker Automotive. As longtime Fisker fans likely know, the original logo represented co-founders Henrik Fisker and Bernhard Koehler standing on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. Henrik Fisker is not involved with the current owner of the Fisker brand, Wanxiang, so the name change makes sense. It was previously rumored that Wanxiang would drop the Fisker name in favor of Elux. Turns out, only half of that rumor appears to be true. The relaunched plug-in hybrid might start production in the middle of 2016. Fisker Automotive Reveals New Name And Logo Karma Automotive - honors iconic design and communicates future direction COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Fisker Automotive and Technology Group announced a name change today to Karma Automotive. The company also launched its new website, including a video that reveals its new logo at karmaautomotive.com. "With new ownership, a new management team, and a new production site, all here in California, it was time to communicate change," said James Taylor, Karma's Chief Marketing Officer. "Karma" was chosen because it is relevant to both the old and new brands, while providing an aspirational message which embodies the company's purpose. "Karma is based on the principle of cause and effect, where your actions create your future.

Henrik Fisker moves on from designing hybrids to superyachts

Henrik Fisker has announced a number of projects since parting ways with his namesake hybrid automobile brand. Most of them revolve, as you might expect, around four wheels. He even did one with two wheels last year, but now he's branching out into superyachts. The partnership announced between Fisker and Italian shipyard Benetti will see the Danish designer pen a new line of yachts measuring 164 feet long. That's roughly the distance covered by ten Karmas parked end to end. Benetti is designing the essential architecture of the vessels, while Fisker will be responsible for its styling inside and out. His vision is previewed by the simple sketch above, sent to Autoblog by a Benetti representative, who tells us that the complete design will be presented this coming February at the Miami International Boat Show. Details are still to come, but Benetti says the superyachts will include "carbon fiber and other exotic materials, as well as optimized ocean views from all major cabins and use reclaimed wood, integrated solar panels and optional hybrid power." The design will be split across three decks incorporating a "beach club" at the rear, on-board spa, a pool, six guest cabins, accommodation for 11 crew members, and technological advancements including automated controls. The Benetti collaboration is just the latest in many upon which Fisker has embarked lately. His recent work includes the Galpin Rocket, the aborted Aston Martin Thunderbolt, and two new vehicles to be unveiled in Detroit next month. These in addition to noteworthy creations highlighting his portfolio including the BMW Z8, Aston Martin DB9, and, of course, his eponymous luxury hybrid sedan. While naval architecture may be new territory for Fisker, this isn't the first time we've seen an automotive designer dip his toes in the water to design a yacht. McLaren design chief Frank Stephenson, for example, recently revealed his own wooden runabout with electric power, and Ian Callum penned a concept speedboat for Jaguar. The design divisions at BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche have dabbled in naval architecture as well, and both Bugatti and Aston Martin recently licensed their names to high-end motorboats too. However Fisker's design will be much bigger than most when it hits the open water.