The 2017 Karma Revero has been revealed and is on sale in the US priced from $130,000.
The four-door plug-in hybrid is essentially a successor to the Karma of defunct company Fisker but improves on that car’s performance in almost all areas.
Using the same 260bhp turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine and twin electric motor setup with upgraded parts, some of which have been supplied by BMW, the new model is capable of running in full electric mode for up to 50 miles, an increase of 20 miles and 19 more than the new Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid can manage.
This growth comes thanks to a bigger battery capacity for the car’s hybrid motor of 21.4 kWh, up from 20.4 kWh, and the car’s onboard charger has also been upgraded from 3.3 kW to 6.6kW.
The changes help the car accelerate from 0-60mph in a claimed 5.4sec in its fastest mode, slashing half a second off the old Karma’s sprint time.
No fuel efficiency figures have been released, but Karma says it expects to retain the old car’s claimed economy of around 50mpg combined.
Fitting a solar roof is claimed by the car maker to generate up to 1.5 miles of electric range per day. In an earlier interview with Autocar, Karma’s chief revenue officer, Jim Taylor, confirmed the system was able to power the car’s high voltage battery, which in turn powers the electric motors.
The new solar panels are twice as powerful as the old car’s and are the first that can actually energise the powertrain of a production car. You can read more about the panels here.
The new car features an advanced infotainment system that’s housed within a high definition touchscreen. It handles all of the car’s entertainment and setting menus, and comes with 4G connectivity and over-the-air update compatibility.
Cars will be built at the firm’s California factory, with production limited to around 1000 units in the first year. The model is due for arrival in Britain in 2018. Pricing will be confirmed closer to then.
Rivals will include full EVs like the Tesla Model S, as well as Porsche’s hybrid Panamera and, when it arrives, the production version of the Mission E.
