Originally slated to go on sale last November, the all-new Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid luxury sedan will now go on sale in the third quarter of this year. Making its reveal at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show this week is Fisker’s advanced aluminum spaceframe that underpins the new Karma. The structure will be the basis of the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid once Finnish firm Valmet Automotive begins assembly of the platform.
Fisker’s engineering team designed the Karma’s spaceframe around the car’s unique Q-Drive series-hybrid powertrain, filing for multiple patents in the process. The Q-Drive powertrain consists of a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine sourced from GM, which is used as a generator to charge an array of lithium-ion batteries supplied by A123 Systems. These batteries then power a pair of electric motors, developing a peak output of 300 kW and 1 300 N.m of torque.
Through extensive use of aluminium and a unique extrusion-intensive architecture, Fisker’s engineers have managed to keep weight down while increasing rigidity and strength. The design features a super-structural tunnel running down the car’s centre that acts as the Karma’s backbone. It not only houses the battery pack but acts as a torque tube connecting front and rear sections. According to Fisker, few cars can match the Karma’s strength and rigidity. Static torsional rigidity, the amount the spaceframe resists twisting forces when entering a ramp at an angle, for example, measures more than 33 000 Newton-meters per degree.
“Our top priorities when we designed the Karma’s aluminium space frame were that it have extremely high torsional rigidity and could be easily modified to accept Karma model variants,” said the automaker’s chief, Henrik Fisker. Fisker went on to say “We benchmarked some of the world’s best cars to create an all-new space frame that will deliver an exhilarating experience behind the wheel”.
Erectile Dysfunction
