Shock Factor: Fisker's electric EMotion arrives in August

Fisker EMotion: Will it rival Tesla for electric cool?

2 November 2016

In a previous life, Henrik Fisker was one of the most influential automotive designers on the planet, responsible for icons like the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9.

The Danish-born designer has now turned his hand to building cars, not just drawing them.

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Fisker's first effort was the Fisker Karma, a sleek, posh, electric saloon with a range-extender powertrain that hit the roads just before Tesla's now ubiquitous Model S became the electric car bellwether. Sadly, the car wasn't a rip-roaring success.

Now Fisker is back for a second bite at the cherry, with a new luxury electric saloon called the EMotion that promises the highest top speed and longest range of any electric car on sale today.

Fisker says the new car will be capable of 161mph and have an all-electric range of 400 miles. The EMotion will also be able to drive itself, while using secretive grapheme-based battery technology. A mid 2017 launch is currently being touted.

Figures like these would place the EMotion beyond the range-topping Tesla Model S P100D in terms of sheer speed and range. Its asking price of £118,900 is likely to eclipse that of the top end Tesla, making this one expensive electric car.

However, the promised record-breaking performance figures don't detract from the EMotion's biggest selling point – its appearance.

The car will be constructed out of composite carbon fibre and aluminium. Like its predecessor, the Karma, it's a low slung coupe-inspired saloon, with huge wheel arches, a low tarmac-kissing nose and a sweeping roofline. Top Gear says that it's "a far more sculpted thing than the Karma" with an assertive, aggressive front end that hints at the performance lurking underneath.

The new car will also have eye-catching dihedral 'butterfly' doors, plucked straight from Tesla's playbook and 'Falcon wing' doors on the Model X SUV.

As an overall package, The Verge says the new vehicle "looks the business", but its construction is an ambitious project. "All we're seeing at the moment are a lot of good ideas and we'll have to wait before we can really judge the EMotion."