Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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CARNOISSEUR a jolt from the future OUR TEST DRIVE PROVES IT—FISKER AUTOMOTIVE GETS THE ELECTRIC CAR RIGHT, THANKS TO A SLEEK, SPORTY STYLE AND PERFORMANCE TO MATCH. BY CRAIG CARLSON I knew the Fisker Karma had stand-out styling when I pulled into the valet of the Four Seasons Hotel and the doorman promptly moved another car and parked me "between the pillars." A hybrid electric vehicle with futur- istic appeal and the presence of a Riva yacht, this car is poised to become the benchmark for luxury automakers as they enter the electric age. Henrik Fisker, the Danish designer of the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9 Coupe, cofounded Fisker Automotive in 2007, and the Karma is his first car to come to market. It combines design language from these legend- ary vehicles with cues from 1960s American muscle cars and the science fiction flair of Star Wars. It is a big car, with standard 22-inch wheels and gigantic Brembo brakes, and it weighs in at about 5,000 pounds, 605 of which can be attributed to the battery pack. The drivetrain is electric and is powered by A123 Systems lithium ion batteries, invented at MIT and developed in Waltham. A four-cylinder turbo engine spins a large generator that powers twin AC motors deliver- ing more than 400 horsepower. The Karma is always propelled by the electric motor; the gas engine powers only the generator. Launching in "stealth" mode—it's so quiet you 122 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM can hardly hear it—the car runs on battery power for the first 50 miles. After that, the gas engine automatically starts to power the electric motor, and regenerative braking helps to recharge the batteries. If you hit the "sport" mode, the gas engine instantly fires up and combines a boost of generator-driven energy with the batteries for acceleration from zero to 60 in about 6 seconds. On a clear day I drove from the Fisker Norwood dealership toward Rockport, a route that combines both highway and twisting back roads. The steering has excellent road feel and very linear turn-in response, with little or no body roll, even when cornering at high speeds. But the real exhilaration started when I took the off-ramp to Route 127 North and accelerated briskly into tight turns and variations in terrain; the car handled like a big go-cart with its low center of gravity enhanced by the chassis-level battery pack. With a base price starting at $102,000, this is an expensive car that offers cutting-edge technology in a beautifully designed package. Sometimes it takes a little science fiction to re-energize an industry, and Fisker has tapped into the Force. Fisker Norwood, 449 Neponset St., Norwood, 781-619- 9000; fiskernorwood.com BC PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF FISKER AUTOMOTIVE