Karma Automotive LLC, the southern California-based producer of luxury electric vehicles that got its start as Fisker Automotive, just revealed the first model to be produced in its new series is called the GS-6. With a design similar to the Revero GT, the new series will offer a more attainable $83,900 starting price point for its electrified vehicle customers.
“Our brand promise at Karma has always been to provide high-end luxury vehicles and technologies that are driven by innovation and inspire our drivers’ ambitions with new and unique offerings,” said Dr. Lance Zhou, Ph.D., Karma’s CEO. “As we look to the future, we believe we will change the world of mobility by making luxury electric vehicles more accessible.”
The GS-6 extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) is offered in three variants—Standard, Luxury, and Sport. The GSe-6, the brand’s first-ever pure battery electric vehicle (BEV), is scheduled for availability later this year, starting at a surprisingly lower starting point of $79,900.
The GS-6 family is available with convenience and safety features including an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). A haptic steering wheel can also control audio and phone functions, cameras, driving modes, adaptive cruise control, and the three-mode regenerative braking system.
The car is assembled at Karma’s Innovation and Customization Center (KICC) in Moreno Valley, CA, which has offered engineering, design, customization, and manufacturing services since it opened in 2017. Its 28-kW·h battery pack is good for up to 80 mi (128 km) of pure electric range. A 1.5-L turbocharged internal combustion engine mated to an onboard generator provides electricity for a 360-mi (579-km) total range.
They provide energy to the 400-kW, 550 lb·ft (745-N·m) two-motor rear drive module (RDM) that includes torque vectoring in the GS-6S variant. The system uses inverters—integrated with the RDM in what’s said to be an extremely compact and lightweight package—to convert DC current from the battery pack and/or generator to power the AC drive motors and to capture AC power from the regenerative braking system to recharge the battery pack. A single-speed gearbox sits between the twin motors.
“The GS-6 with its more attainable price point, combined with a long list of standard and available convenience features and luxurious design, will appeal to a much larger audience,” said Joost de Vries, Karma’s VP of Global Sales and Customer Experience.
The more attainable pricing of the GS-6 will enable the Revero GT nameplate to be moved up-market in future variants. That latter model is estimated to feature more than 1100 hp (820 kW) and four-wheel drive, as well as demonstrating a type of hand-crafted, coach-built luxury, technology, and innovation. It will benefit from racing-inspired structural, componentry, and technology suited for both track-day and street-car applications.
The range-topping model was previewed by the SC2 concept car shown in late 2019 during AutoMobility LA and the Los Angeles Auto Show., which Karma said was a signpost to its future design language and technology offerings. The striking full battery electric vehicle (BEV) concept had the same 1100 hp quoted for the new Revero GT.
Front- and rear-mounted twin electric motors also deliver 10,500 lb·ft (14,000 N·m) wheel torque for 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) acceleration in under 1.9 s. The 120-kW·h battery pack provides a range of 325 mi (523 km), carbon-ceramic brakes, a push-rod operated racing suspension, and a torque-vectoring gearbox.
Key design details of the SC2 are a generous front-axle/windscreen length, patented articulating hinge winged doors that gently rise upward and forward to reveal a fiber-optic headliner, and an interior with carbon fiber, aniline leather, cashmere, and the option of visually recording drive sessions for future reference.
After the 2019 show, Karma announced its E-Flex platform inspired by the SC2 to leverage the company’s emerging technology, manufacturing, and design services for electric-mobility-solution partners. In June 2020, the company announced the completion of the platform project with a series of versatile EREV and BEV rolling chassis systems.
At the time it said that some of the E-Flex applications include an all-electric Level 4 autonomous van developed in partnership with Nvidia and WeRide, an all-wheel-drive performance EV with supercar-capable architecture, an EREV E-Flex Van for last-mile cargo transportation, an Everyday BEV for single-motor all-electric transportation of small cargo, and an all-wheel-drive extended-range EV for pickup trucks and utility vehicles.
Karma also announced this month a fuel-cell collaboration with Blue World Technologies to explore the viability to provide primary propulsion power for a variety of future passenger and light commercial vehicles. Blue World Technology’s fuel-cell system will be integrated with Karma’s EV architecture and piloted in GS-6 development vehicles for testing and validation in the U.S. and Denmark over the next few months.
According to Karma, an electric vehicle powered by methanol fuel cells provides the same convenience as fueling an internal combustion engine with gasoline. The technology has a methanol reformer to produce hydrogen on board. The company is bullish on the concept because methanol is a hydrogen-carrier commodity fuel already traded worldwide, and it can be stored and distributed using the existing infrastructure in many countries. As a green alternative to fossil fuels, methanol can be produced using renewable sources ensuring a CO2-neutral proposition.
“We are investing in these types of powertrain technologies now to prepare for an emission-free world by having various extended-range electrification solutions that include hydrogen, ethanol, and methanol fuel cells as a propulsion system,” said Zhou.
“We…see great potential in combining their expertise within hybridization and powertrain solutions with our flexible fuel-cell concept that is suitable for both engine bay or skateboard platform integration,” said Mads Friis Jensen, Chief Commercial Officer and Cofounder of Blue World Technologies.
