Karma SC2 concept car has 1,100 hp
This design study is also fitted with killer doors and a sumptuous interior.
Concept cars tend to be outlandish, but few are as over the top as Karma's SC2, which was unveiled earlier today on the eve of the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show .
This futuristic-looking hypercar is all-electric and supposedly gives a preview of where the California-based automaker's designs are heading in the future. With beautifully exotic bodywork and a lengthy dash-to-axle measurement, this machine is a sight to behold, even when dressed in a hand-applied, rather subdued paint color called vapor gray.
A pure-electric vehicle, the SC2 features an I-shaped battery pack housed in a tunnel that runs down the car's centerline. With a capacity of 120 kWh, it should provide 350 miles of driving range.
That battery juices front- and rear-mounted motors that deliver a claimed 1,100 horsepower. That should be enough to get the SC2 from a standstill to 60 miles an hour in less than 1.9 seconds. Helping keep things under control are a racing-style suspension system and carbon-ceramic brakes.
This concept car's interior is lavishly trimmed with rich leather, impressive stitching and what appears to be a boatload of exposed carbon fiber. Access is gained via fingerprint and facial recognition sensors that should unlock the SC2's winged doors, which rise upward and forward as they open.
In typical Karma fashion, the SC2's cabin is beautifully done.
Self-driving capability is a key attribute of any futuristic design study, and this Karma is properly equipped. A phalanx of long-range radar sensors, cameras and lidar arrays are sprinkled throughout, in theory allowing the car to operate autonomously.
One intriguing element of the SC2 is something called Drive and Play. This feature allows people to relive past drives they've taken. A special high-definition camera mounted under the windshield and other sensors capture the car in motion in a 3D environment. This system records the entire driving experience in real time. This includes braking and acceleration events, turns, sounds and even the air temperature.
An adaptive laser projector allows you to replay a recorded drive while the vehicle is parked. Using a special mount, a smartphone even acts as the rear-view mirror. Making the experience more social, users can share their Drive and Play experiences.
The Karma SC2 is a beautiful piece of rolling sculpture, but it's unlikely anything like this will ever be mass-produced, at least in the near future. Hopefully some of its design cues and innovative features will make it to market sooner rather than later.
