Fisker Making A Improbable Comeback With The Revero

By Martin Feigen | Oct 30, 2016

CHICAGO - FEBRUARY 08: 2013 Fisker Karma Eco Sport, at the 105th Annual Chicago Auto Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois on FEBRUARY 08, 2012. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) /

When the Fisker Karma hit the streets in 2011, it was beautiful and elegant. Poor design and financial missteps killed the company, until now.

When last we heard about Fisker, the company was in the news for all the wrong reasons. The $200 million they borrowed from the government was gone, the company was folding, and cars were catching fire. It looked like Fiskar was dead.

A little-noticed transaction took place as the company shut down and lawyers argued over its assets in bankruptcy. A small Chinese parts manufacturer bought the intellectual assets and plotted a course to bring the Fisker Karma back life. A daunting task with all the negative publicity the company had received.

Fast forward and like the mythical Phoenix, Fisker has come back to life. This time with the Fisker Revero, the company looks to fulfill a once bright future. They have worked hard to not repeat the checkered past of the original Karma.

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The new Fisker Revero looks virtually the same as the Karma. The elegant design still looks stunning, but it is a bit dated in the front end. That is not what caused the Karma to fail. Reliability issues resulting from the push into production was one of the reasons the car was not able to survive.

This time around the new Fisker has put the time into making sure the Revero was right internally and upgraded the passenger experience. Priced over $100,000, it is reentering a market now that has several competitors. Tesla, BMW, Ferrari, Porshe, among others all have performance electric or hybrid options.

What set the Fisker Karma apart was its stunning beauty. Henrik Fisker’s design is as close to a driving work of art as there had been in a long time. AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson said it was as close to a concept car that had been on the road.

The primary factor in the failure of the original Fisker was their battery supplier had quality issues and ultimately failed. In 2012 there were no other battery options and the rest was history. With new batteries available and an added roof solar panel, the electrical systems are greatly improved. A new “Infotainment” system and under the skin refinement has turned this into what it should have been in 2012.

The real question is whether enough time has passed and consumers will give Fisker another chance. If the car proves reliable, there is a place for Fisker in the hybrid market. As beautiful of a design the Karma is, a next generation is going to be needed for the Fisker Revero to survive. That will be the test as to the future of Fisker.

I still remember the first time I saw the stunning Fisker Karma on the road. I can’t wait to see the Fisker Revero in person. What I am really curious about is what is coming next from Fisker. That is the test for Fisker. To show that it is more than just fixing a great design, but bringing it to the future.