{"id":28291,"date":"2021-11-17T18:23:30","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T22:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28291"},"modified":"2023-02-27T11:48:24","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T15:48:24","slug":"la-auto-show-reborn-fisker-unveils-the-ocean-ev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/la-auto-show-reborn-fisker-unveils-the-ocean-ev","title":{"rendered":"LA Auto Show: Reborn Fisker unveils the Ocean EV"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Los Angeles<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Media reveals are sparse at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show, and start-up electric vehicle-maker Fisker is taking full advantage.<\/p>\n

EV pioneer Henrik Fisker led off the show with a splash Wednesday by unveiling the Fisker Ocean SUV. The EV marks the legendary designer\u2019s second venture into a battery-powered future.<\/p>\n

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Ten years after Fisker\u2019s beautiful \u2014 but ill-fated \u2014 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 \u2014 or about the average new vehicle price today \u2014 the stylish Ocean\u2019s price climbs to $49,999 for the all-wheel-drive Ultra model, and $68,999 in fully-loaded Extreme and Ocean One trims.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s highest-volume segment, compact SUVs.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all want to own a sportscar, but then we all want to drive an SUV,\u201d 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. \u201cI\u2019m into sportscars myself, so I made a sporty car that acts like an SUV.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Push<\/p>\n
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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 \u201cCalifornia mode.\u201d 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 \u201cdoggy windows” aft of the C-pillar so that canines\u00a0in the cargo hold can sniff the salty ocean air.<\/p>\n

The car\u2019s interior showpiece is a huge\u00a017.1-inch center touchscreen. On the upper-trim Ocean Extreme and One model, the screen sits in landscape mode when stationary \u2014 then spins around to landscape mode when the sleek SUV gets moving.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe thought of your smartphone when we designed it,\u201d said Fisker. \u201cYou can turn your phone to look at a picture in landscape or\u00a0portrait modes.\u201d<\/p>\n

To further pique public\u00a0interest, Fisker\u00a0is under contract to make a version of the Ocean as the Popemobile to carry Pope Francis, a devout environmentalist.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0350-mile range battery. The standard, 250-mile range, front-wheel-drive Ocean can hit 60 in 6.9 seconds.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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With the electric motor hardware up front, Fisker chose not to offer the Ocean with a \u201cfrunk\u201d (front trunk) like his RWD competitors to reduce costs and keep the base model under $40,000.<\/p>\n

With cost savings in mind \u2014 and in contract with rival\u00a0U.S.-based EV makers Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid \u2014 the Ocean\u2019s 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\u00a0the Magna partnership will keep development of the Ocean to\u00a0just 2 1\/2 years.<\/p>\n

The Austrian import will work\u00a0against 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.<\/p>\n

\"Fisker<\/p>\n
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The Ocean features Earth, Fun\u00a0and Off-Road drive modes \u2014 with Hyper mode for driving ultra-fast in Ultra, Extreme and One models.<\/p>\n

A decade ago, Frisker and Elon Musk were the battery-powered golden boys on the performance electric frontier. Fisker\u2019s Karma sedan is still considered one of the prettiest cars made, but its underpowered drivetrain and tight interior ultimately took a backseat to Musk\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The Ocean is a more mainstream vehicle that hopes to grow the luxury market that Tesla\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Following the Tesla and Rivian EV models, Ocean sports an\u00a0eco-chic interior with materials made from recycled T-shirts, plastic bottles\u00a0and fishing nets.<\/p>\n

\"Henrik<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve got to change this industry to be much more sustainable,\u201d said Fisker. \u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fisker said\u00a0the 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 \u2014 or building showrooms like Tesla. Instead, cars will be delivered to customers at their homes, whether near Fisker\u2019s California headquarters or in Michigan.<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Los Angeles\u00a0\u2014 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\u2019s second venture into a battery-powered future. Ten years after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28291"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28291"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28292,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28291\/revisions\/28292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}