Karma Good To Go In Q4 2009

Fisker Automotive announced last week that it would deliver the Fisker Karma PHEV in Q4 2009. The company is currently contesting a lawsuit filed by Tesla Motors that claims the design for the Karma was stolen from Tesla.

Tesla claims that Fisker Coachbuild was awarded a design contract for a vehicle code-named "WhiteStar" in February 2007. Tesla claims that Fisker Coachbuild used Tesla's WhiteStar design as the basis for the Karma.

Hendrik Fisker, CEO and founder of Fisker Automotive and Fisker Coachbuild, is confident that he can successfully refute Tesla's claims of intellectual property theft, and believes that the lawsuit will not affect the release schedule of the Karma. Prior to launching his own companies, Fisker worked at BMW on the E-1 electric vehicle. He also worked on the BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Fisker Coachbuild counts the Tramonto and the Latigo CS among its independent design successes.

Alan Niedswiecki, CEO of Quantum Technologies backs Fisker's claim that he met with Fisker in January of 2007 and the pair hatched a plan at that time to build a PHEV based on Quantum Technologies' power train and Fisker's automotive design, with the goal of producing the first premium plug-in hybrid sports sedan. Fisker Automotive was launched in August 2007, as a joint venture between Quantum Technologies and Fisker Coachbuild, LLC.

The Karma concept was first shown at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. According to the company, the powertrain for the Karma was developed by Quantum Technologies, which counts the US military among its clientele.

Source and Photo Credit: Fisker Automotive