Instant Karma: EV Maker Set to Unveil Two New Models at Pebble Beach

While Fisker Inc. may be heading to the junkyard in the sky, there’s new life to founder Henrik Fisker’s earlier automotive start-up. Now owned by the Chinese and renamed Karma Automotive, it will show there can be life after death by unveiling two new models at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance next month. And they are meant to channel the ghosts of several other one-time automotive greats, including luxury brands Pierce-Arrow and Duesenberg.

Karma Automotive has some big plans for the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance next month, the California-based automaker set to pull the wraps off two new models, both of them electrified.

Karma previously revealed plans to build the all-electric Kaveya last year. But this will be its first public showing – more precisely, the first showing of a “production ready” interior. The automaker also will stage the global premier of a new design study dubbed the GT-UV.

The exclusive concours would seem to be a fitting location for the preview considering Karma’s claim that it wants “to become the first American ultra-luxury automaker since the departure of the greats —  Auburn, Duesenberg, Packard and Pierce-Arrow — in the late 1930s.”

What we know about Karma Kaveya

An early prototype of Karma Kaveya was revealed last November. At the time, the automaker promised an exotic sports coupe  with an all-electric drivetrain capable of delivering outrageous amounts of power.

Two versions were set to be offered:

• One with a rear-wheel-drive, likely single-motor drivetrain capable of pumping out 536 horsepower;
• An all-wheel-drive model adding at least one additional motor and boosting power to 1,180 hp and 1,270 lb-ft of torque. A new press release, however, suggests the top-line, AWD Kaveya will deliver “up to 1,000” hp.

Kaveya introduces the new “Comet Line” design language, marking the brand’s most dramatic move away from the styling of the original Karma Revero yet. It’s meant to “captur€ an aura akin to a stealth jet,” the company said in a new released. It will adopt “butterfly doors,” and likely will carry over the concept’s big rear wing – at least as an option.

As for the interior, Karma claims the rendering, above, is “production ready,” which means a rectangular steering wheel. To be more precise, it’s more yoke than wheel. There appears to be just a thin band of instruments directly in front of the driver, with a larger digital display off to the right. It’s likely a safe bet Kaveya will put a lot of information directly in the driver’s line of sight using a head-up display.

The two-door is scheduled to reach dealerships in North America, Europe, South America and the Middle East, Karma said, in 2026. Speculation is that it will come in around $300,000 – in line with a similar, all-electric design concept, the Cadillac Celestiq.

The Karma GT-UV mystery

Comparatively little is being said about the GT-UV though Karma noted the concept will get a different name when it goes into production.

The temporary badge does offer some insight, however, the Karma press release revealing “the Design Study establishes a new segment of multi-terrain capable vehicle, the “GT-UV,” or Grand Touring Utility Vehicle.”

GT-UV picks up on Karma’s new “Comet Line” design language. The finished project, it broadly hinted, will project “an otherworldly boldness to deliver a dramatic four-seater concept unseen before in the ultra-luxury segment, or anywhere else.”

We have plenty of other questions – starting with whether this new model will go all-electric or opt for a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. Considering both the Kaveya, as well as the Gysera Karma unveiled earlier this year are both EVs, it may tell us that is the route all future Karma models will follow.

The world will get a first look at the GT-UV concept at “The Quail: a Motorsports Gathering.” It’s a sister event to the Pebble Beach Concours, but will then be moved over to the bigger event for display as part of Pebble’s annual “Concept Lawn.”

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About Karma Automotive

While it’s based in Irvine, California, the automaker’s claim to becoming “the first American ultra-luxury automaker” since the Great Depression may be a stretch. It was purchased in February 2014 by the Chinese after Henrik Fisker’s original Fisker Automotive went into Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Now owned by conglomerate Wanxiang Group, it started out by renaming itself Karma and, to confuse matters, the original Fisker Karma, a sleek plug-in hybrid sports coupe, was rebadged the Revero.

The company began building Revero in September 2016 at a new factory in California. The old Fisker Karma was produced in Europe by a contract manufacturer. A variety of spin-offs have been launched, including the company’s first all-electric model, the GSe-6.

Wanxiang also purchased bankrupt EV battery supplier A123.