- Search Cartoons
- Comic Archive
-
Payne
Store
Henry Payne RSS
LA Auto Show: Reborn Fisker unveils the Ocean EV
Posted by Talbot Payne on November 17, 2021
Los Angeles — Media reveals are sparse at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show, and start-up electric vehicle-maker Fisker is taking full advantage.
EV pioneer Henrik Fisker led off the show with a splash Wednesday by unveiling the Fisker Ocean SUV. The EV marks the legendary designer’s second venture into a battery-powered future.
Ten years after Fisker’s beautiful — but ill-fated — Fisker Karma sports sedan created waves with its plug-in battery drivetrain, the compact Ocean SUV is aimed at the heart of the emerging EV market. Priced from $37,499 for the standard Sport model — or about the average new vehicle price today — the stylish Ocean’s price climbs to $49,999 for the all-wheel-drive Ultra model, and $68,999 in fully-loaded Extreme and Ocean One trims.
The Fisker will go head-to-head with other EVs like the Tesla Model Y, Mustang Mach-E, Volvo C40, and VW ID.4 in the industry’s highest-volume segment, compact SUVs.
With lean headlights and a chunky, funky body draped over huge 22-inch wheels, the Ocean One prototype looks like the Range Rover Evoque and BMW i3 had a love child. Expect the final draft to look similar when the first Fisker rolls of the assembly line in November 2022. Its SUV practicality is married to significant performance thanks to a big battery and torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system.
“We all want to own a sportscar, but then we all want to drive an SUV,” smiled Fisker during a walk-around of the car ahead of its show floor debut. Before starting his own brand, he made his mark as the designer of the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9 coupes. “I’m into sportscars myself, so I made a sporty car that acts like an SUV.”
Ever the showman, the Danish-born designer penned the Ocean with dramatic features to help it stand out from other fish in the EV sea. The push of a button will peel back the roof and drop the windows for an open-air “California mode.” The canopy is available as a solar roof on top trim models, which Fisker says could deliver 10 miles of range within a decade. And dog lovers will admire the “doggy windows” aft of the C-pillar so that canines in the cargo hold can sniff the salty ocean air.
The car’s interior showpiece is a huge 17.1-inch center touchscreen. On the upper-trim Ocean Extreme and One model, the screen sits in landscape mode when stationary — then spins around to landscape mode when the sleek SUV gets moving.
“We thought of your smartphone when we designed it,” said Fisker. “You can turn your phone to look at a picture in landscape or portrait modes.”
To further pique public interest, Fisker is under contract to make a version of the Ocean as the Popemobile to carry Pope Francis, a devout environmentalist.
Thanks to its torque-vectoring AWD and low center-of-gravity, the Ocean also boasts nimble handling. With instant electric torque, it can also take off from a stoplight with authority. Fisker rattled off the numbers: zero-60 in 3.6 seconds when equipped with the twin motors and the large 350-mile range battery. The standard, 250-mile range, front-wheel-drive Ocean can hit 60 in 6.9 seconds.
With the electric motor hardware up front, Fisker chose not to offer the Ocean with a “frunk” (front trunk) like his RWD competitors to reduce costs and keep the base model under $40,000.
With cost savings in mind — and in contract with rival U.S.-based EV makers Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid — the Ocean’s manufacturing will be outsourced to Magna in Graz, Austria, which also makes the Mercedes G-wagon and Jaguar i-Pace. Tesla famously had teething pains as it ramped up production and Fisker said the Magna partnership will keep development of the Ocean to just 2 1/2 years.
The Austrian import will work against the fledgling automaker if Congress passes legislation eliminating the $7,500 tax credit for foreign-built EVs by 2026. Fisker is planning another EV, the Pear, to be built by Foxconn stateside in Lordstown, Ohio.
The Ocean features Earth, Fun and Off-Road drive modes — with Hyper mode for driving ultra-fast in Ultra, Extreme and One models.
A decade ago, Frisker and Elon Musk were the battery-powered golden boys on the performance electric frontier. Fisker’s Karma sedan is still considered one of the prettiest cars made, but its underpowered drivetrain and tight interior ultimately took a backseat to Musk’s Model S, which took the luxury market by storm with its Ludicrous acceleration mode and cross-country Supercharging network. The Karma has been rebadged and is now sold by a Chinese company.
The Ocean is a more mainstream vehicle that hopes to grow the luxury market that Tesla’s subsequent Model Y and Model 3 EVs created. But Fisker has resisted building an expansive charging network like Tesla. Instead, the company is partnering with Electrify America as the VW-funded network builds out a parallel charging network.
Following the Tesla and Rivian EV models, Ocean sports an eco-chic interior with materials made from recycled T-shirts, plastic bottles and fishing nets.
“We’ve got to change this industry to be much more sustainable,” said Fisker. “And it’s a lot more than making an electric car. It’s about how this car is made. It’s also about what materials go into the car.”
Fisker said the Ocean has already received 19,000 pre-orders with a $250 deposit. Orders can be placed online. To keep overhead down, Fisker is not selling though a dealer network — or building showrooms like Tesla. Instead, cars will be delivered to customers at their homes, whether near Fisker’s California headquarters or in Michigan.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.