Out With The Batteries – The Fisker Karma Now Rocks A Corvette Motor

vlf_automotive_destino_5Bob Lutz is one of the many movers-and-shakers that have left their mark on General Motors. His philosophy always involved appealing to the customers’ wants and needs. One of his most controversial traits, however, is his skepticism of the global warming issue; Lutz isn’t too keen on sacrificing performance for the sake of a smaller footprint.

Henrik Fisker (center left), Bob Lutz (center right) and Gilbert Villarreal (right), posing at the release of another VLF project seen behind them.

Naturally, then, his current involvement with VLF Automotive (the team-up between Henrik Fisker, Gilbert Villarreal and himself,) involves banishing an electric drivetrain for a slightly less green-minded 6.2-liter V8. More specifically, taking the left for dead Fisker Karma, shoe-horning in a 650 hp LS9 V8 and christening the thing, VLF Destino.

Lutz has now taken delivery of his own Destino and is raving about the car’s charms. With many other orders placed as well, new Destinos will soon reach other new owners’ hands.

We can’t help but find a bit of irony in the whole situation surrounding the Destino – electric-powered Karma hits the market and is an absolute failure; Lutz joins VLF and puts a Corvette motor in Karma; Lutz’s V8-powered Destino gets big media buzz before it reaches the public. We’re as much for protecting the earth as everyone else, but sometimes a fire-prone electric drivetrain just doesn’t cut it.vlf_automotive_destino_9

But, despite no longer wearing a Fisker badge, the Destino is still aimed at the upper echelon of society with it’s nearly $230,000 price tag. Sadly, the Corvette spirit of attainable performance doesn’t transfer over with the ZR1’s LS9. That being the case, we sense that the Destino could be targeted at taking performance-minded EVs (like those from Tesla) down a notch on the high-dollar sports car ladder.

So when it comes time to burn rubber in the Whole Foods parking lot before heading back to your million-dollar home, which would you rather wield: the high falutin’ EV-market’s big-hitter, the P85D, or a pinky-out-but-Corvette-powered Fisker with a supercharged LS-motor? We know which one we (and Bob Lutz) would rather have…vl-automotive-destino-with-bob-lutz-at-2013-detroit-auto-show_100415887_l

About the author

Joshua Phillips

Josh has always been captivated by cars, from legendary classics and late-model American muscle to European supercars.
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