Fisker Atlantic plans, specs leaked
Investor documents reveal that the 300 horsepower plug-in hybrid coupe will be priced between $50,000 and $60,000 and will go on sale in 2014.
If you're in the market for a luxury plug-in hybrid sedan, start saving up the $50,000 to $60,000 you'll need to buy the Fisker Atlantic sedan. And you'll have plenty of time -- don't expect to see the car in the showrooms for another couple of years.
Details of Fisker's second plug-in hybrid were leaked to InsideEvs.com. The Fisker Atlantic, formerly known as Project Nina, is the startup's follow-up to its $100,000 Karma plug-in hybrid sports car. The Atlantic is a smaller, more affordable luxury coupe that will be equipped with a 300 horsepower electric motor and make it to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds.
Those specifications land the plug-in hybrid somewhere in the middle of the pack compared with the current mid-level Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar, and BMW sedans with which it aims to compete. Those vehicles offer between 240 and 385 horsepower and have zero to 60 mph times of anywhere from 5 to 6.5 seconds.
However, the Atlantic won't be competing on the drag strip for some time. Fisker originally planned to produce and sell the Atlantic in 2013, but the leaked internal documents reveal that the prototype is now anticipated for 2013. Production will not begin until after the company's Delaware manufacturing facility completes retooling. The facility is supposed to undergo construction this year and is scheduled for completion in 2014.
But even that could be an optimistic timeline, as a Delaware Online article reports that the factory is still empty, and the company has laid off most of its Wilmington staff due to budget cuts. Fisker lost its $529 million Department of Energy loan in February because it failed to meet milestones. Currently, the Fisker Karma is assembled in Finland by Valmet Automotive. Recently Fisker secured $263 million in alternate financing, bringing its total fundraising to $1.025 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Representatives for the startup auto manufacturer confirmed the veracity of the investor documents and would not comment further on the information. But while it is tempting to read a lot into these details, production delays are not unique to Fisker. Even Tesla postponed its Roadster launch from 2007 to 2008, and originally planned to debut the Model S sedan in late 2009 or 2010. Customers will begin to receive the Model S beginning in June of this year.
(Source: InsideEvs.com)