Transport

Like a New EMotion

Lightweight aluminium and carbon fiber car boasts a 640-kilometer electric range.
29 May, 2017
Danish automotive designer Henrik Fisker is moving ahead with a new EMotion to bring a new sense of style and proportion to the luxury sport sedan market.
The EMotion – not to be confused with the new MG concept car that shares its name – is already on the scene. Fisker designed it with a large, curved front windscreen pushed forward, diving into an extremely low bonnet, and a rear integrated spoiler with a powerful functional diffusor to aid the aerodynamics.

The end result? A 260 Km/h top speed to go with its 640-kilometer electrical power range, performance metrics that are facilitated by an aluminium and carbon fiber platform designed to be 20 percent lighter than comparable cars. It's pricey at more than USD$100,000, but will be ready for display by summer. The plan then is to make an affordable, mass-market car for less than $40,000 in the following year.
The EMotion will use a new battery technology using graphene, produced by Fisker Nanotech, a joint venture between Fisker Inc. and Nanotech Energy Inc. When discussing the project with Carbuzz, Fisker explained that the investment in a truly disruptive battery technology was a real-world game changer.

"The biggest challenge EVs are facing is that potential buyers living in big cities, like London, Paris, or Milan, park their cars on the street. Where they can't charge them," Fisker explained as he boasted of the new battery's longevity. "With a 300-km range that means having to find a charging station every week. With the EMotion, owners will only have to worry about charging the car once a month."
The company reworked the electric power train layout and increased the wheelbase, so that it keeps a sleek sporty look while providing plenty of room. That being said, much of the investment goes into technology, including hardware that will allow fully autonomous driving when approved and released by partners. The interior will emphasize ultimate comfort and user interface from both front and rear seats, and all seats will have access to screens and infotainment features controlled from whereever they're sitting. Owners of the connected car will have automated process and on-site pickup for service and repair too.

Fisker also made the then-celebrated electric hybrid Karma a decade ago, and the relaunched company describes themselves as "pioneers then, disruptors now." That's a bit of an optimistic spin considering some of the withering journalistic and industry critique the company endured in its first failed iteration. Yet Fisker is a widely recognized design genius – he's designed cars for Aston Martin and BMW, among others – and the company website, to its credit, is unusually transparent about history and challenges.
Image: Car Buzz
Among the biggest hurdles with the Karma were battery failures and recalls, and that's one reason why Fisker has focused on innovation that is its own. The company says it had been working in stealth mode to bring the new car to market, but especially because of the Fisker Nanotech battery project.

"The technology emanates from several professors from UCLA who have been working on energy storage," said Jack Kavanaugh, chariman of the joint venture, in a Bloomberg interview. "We have already developed prototypes that you won't see anywhere else."
If all goes as planned, the batteries will become just as much of a Fisker product as the new EMotion is likely to be.
Banner image: Car Buzz