Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

Another anticipated reveal at this year’s NAIAS was Fisker Automotive’s range extended electric vehicle (or REEV) called the Karma. Like the Chevrolet Volt, the Karma can operate on pure electric power for a limited range (about 50 miles) before a traditional combustion engine takes over. But since most people don’t drive 50 miles every day, there’s a good chance you won’t need to use the traditional engine that often, which also means far less trips to the gas station.

But while the Karma is expected to launch in the forth quarter of 2009, don’t expect to see one in every driveway right away. For starters the car has two separate drivetrains, one for the electric motor and one for the combustion engine, and it also has an expensive set of solar panels on the roof resulting in a price tag of about $80,000. While the company admits the Karma is being marketed as a high performance sports car, the track record of the Tesla has probably made people a bit cautious about the success of an electric vehicle coming from a small manufacturer.

More shots of the Fisker Automotive Karma are available after the jump.