2013 Fisker Atlantic

One of the auto industry’s highly anticipated secrets is finally ready to break cover at the 2012 New York Auto Show.

For the fine folks of Fisker, the debut of the Fisker Atlantic - ’twas once codenamed "Project Nina" - marks as a celebration in its own right, a culmination of years of hard work and dedication.

And now that it’s ready for its world premier, Fisker has come out with the first official details of the car, as well as photos that finally gives us a good look at what they’ve been working on all this time.

Judging by its looks, the Atlantic looks like a bigger version of the Karma, albeit with a more pronounced stance that’s typical of its sedan form. The unmistakable Karma grille is also present, which we’ve never been fans of from the beginning.

All in all, though, the Atlantic looks pretty neat and when matched with a hybrid powertrain should make for a model that would draw the interest of a lot of people.

Exterior and Interior

There’s a lot to love about the design of the Fisker Atlantic, although there are also some parts of it that leave a lot to be desired. The overall body of the car is a definite eye-catcher, particularly Fisker’s manipulation of the sculptural lines and dynamic angles of their signature design language. As a car that was "inspired by nature," the sleek, coupe-like stance of the car exudes power and grace wrapped up in one package. The eagle-eye headlights also catch a drawing glance, as does the prototype glass roof, which is one of the highlighted design features of the car.

The rear door handles, which have been integrated in the rear C-pillars, also cast a sporting look to the car while the slim LED tail lamps were built and designed with the latest in technology, allowing them to split into two parts to offer a wider aperture for the trunk opening. Finally, the rear end of the car, thanks in part to the sharp spoiler lip on the trunk, is clean and aerodynamically suited for the car’s overall design.

As far as the things we don’t like about the Atlantic: the distinctive Fisker Karma grille that really looks like a mustache.

Performance

Just like it’s sister model, the Karma, the Fisker Atlantic is powered by a plug-in series hybrid featuring a BMW-farmed four-cylinder gas engine that acts as a generator of sorts and combined with lithium-ion batteries to deliver maximum economy and high torque levels, ensuring that the car will provide highly competitive performance numbers for a car in its class.

Most experts, us included, believe this engine is the 2.0-liter in the 328i sedan, which if it has the turbocharger would put it at 240 horsepower. The electric motor can go up to 30 miles on a single charge and the gasoline engine has a generator to help recharge the electric motor. It will also come in either two- or four-wheel drive.

Pricing

 

 

Considering that Henrik Fisker has pegged the car as a suitable competitor to the Audi A5 and the upper-echelon models of the BMW 3-Series, does it also mean that we’re going to expect a price of no higher than $50,000? If that’s the case, that’s a far departure from the Karma, which retails now for just under $100,000.

According to a Fisker representative, the Atlantic is going to be a mass-produced, worldwide released vehicle, unlike the limited and pricey Karma. Fisker says it plans to have upwards of 100,000 cars per year produced and will do so with or without the help of the Department of Energy, who cut its funding to Fisker in May 2011 after only accessing about two-fifths of the available DOE loan money.

Competition

 

Apparently, the Atlantic has its sights on being a stiff competitor to the A5 and the 3-Series. We’re not quite sure how the new Fisker sedan matches up against the two German vehicles because of powertrain differences, but Fisker executive chairman Henrik Fisker did mention that the Atlantic will be slotted in the range of the Audi and BMW models.

Having said that, the A5 does possess a new 3.0-liter supercharged V6 engine that produces 272 horsepower whereas the BMW 3-Series has a top-of-the-line 3.0 liter six-in-line unit that delivers a total of 306 horsepower. It’ll be very interesting to see how much power the Atlantic will have under its hood when Fisker reveals those numbers.

 topspeed.com