You’ve likely seen Henrik Fisker’s designs on the road and in luxury car magazines. His works reach from the BMW Z8 to the Aston Martin Vantage, and now to designs he can put his own name on. Having left his design service career behind him, Mr. Fisker has launched his own brand of vehicles, including the plug-in electric hybrid the Fisker Karma. The Karma is no Prius, its a luxury hybrid that can run up to 50 miles without switching on its combustion engine once (much like our friends at Aptera). We sat down for an interview with the founder and namesake of Fisker Automobiles, Mr. Henrik Fisker himself. Keep reading, GearCravers, to learn more about this revolutionary new luxury car, the man behind it, even his take on the legal whining of his competitors…

Henrik Fisker

Since the earlier part of your career with BMW and Aston Martin, has working with green auto technologies been a career goal for you?

Yes, but one that looked good and had good performance.

Was launching your own auto brand also a career goal from early on?

No, it became a dream within reach later in my career.

Prior to your work with Fisker Coachbuild, what design project are you most proud of?

The BMW Z8.

Since your early career focused mostly on design and styling, how have you managed the transition to oversee mechanical engineering as well?

During my career I worked very closely with engineers, and I learned the only way to design a truly great car, you have to work with engineers and understand the basic engineering to make a car.

The Fisker Karma

The Fisker Karma is a fresh, progressive design, yet it features elements that are recognizable as “signature Henrik Fisker”. With that, where has the work of your early career inspired the design of the Karma?

I constantly get inspiration from everything that happens in life, as well as, beautiful forms and shapes that I see during the day.

Like the Chevrolet Volt and the Tesla Roadster, the Fisker Karma is one of few luxury plug-in hybrids approaching the auto market. What makes the Fisker Karma unique– and why would prospective buyers choose the Karma?

The Karma is different from any normal hybrid by the fact that it can be driven electric mode only and zero emissions for up to 50 miles everyday. It different from an electric car by the fact there is no range limit because after the 50 miles, a gasoline engines turns on and charges the battery while you are driving.

The Karma provides impressive acceleration for a green luxury car. It is slated to go from zero to 60 in less than six seconds. Is this true for both the combustion engine mode and the pure electric mode?

Zero to 60 in electric mode is approximately 7-1/2 seconds and we limit the top speed to 95 mph to make sure we have a 50 mile range.

For us laymen to understand, is the transition between the electric motor and combustion engine automatic, voluntary or both?

The transition is completely automatic but can be activated manually by a button on the steering wheel.

Should the Karma project fire on all cylinders, when do you expect to release the first production Karmas to the market?

We will deliver our first cars in the 4th quarter of 2009.

The recent Tesla lawsuit has been widely covered across auto and tech web media. Is there a concern that this complicates the potential for the Karma to reach the market on schedule?

The Tesla lawsuit is completely ridiculous and has no impact whatsoever on our delivery time. We will file a motion for arbitration next week that the lawsuit is merit less.

The Green Car Industry

While Biofuels can be pollutants just like gasoline, developments in new biofuel technology are making biofuel more economical and environmentally friendly. On the combustion side of the Fisker automobiles, might Fisker adopt a flex fueled engine to support biofuels in the future?

There are no plans for that at this moment. We believe that the gasoline engine is the best solution as it will not be used very often.

Due to the cost and limited availability of plug-in hybrid systems, high end boutique auto makers like Fisker Automotive have lower barriers in integrating this technology. When do you think that the plug-in hybrid will be widely available and affordable to the consumer market?

It will be another 6 to 7 years before we will see plug-in hybrids in the $30,000 price range.

Do you feel that electric car technology has more promise than biofuel or hydrogen fuel cell technology?

Yes, we feel the plug-in hybrid is the best alternative because it has no compromise in range like a pure electric car and you don’t need to produce a new type of fuel and create a new infrastructure.

Thanks to Henrik Fisker and Fisker Automotive for taking the time to chat with us. You can learn more about the Fisker Karma at FiskerAutomotive.com. You can check out more car news here on GearCrave, including more news on electrics like the Tesla Roadster and the Aptera Typ-1.