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Fisker sues Aston Martin for $100M over The Force 1

We were expecting Henrik Fisker to bring The Force 1, his next vehicle design, to next week's Detroit Auto Show, but that might not happen. In December an attorney for Aston Martin sent Fisker a letter asking the Danish designer to either not show his car in Detroit or to change the design. Fisker responded to that letter by filing $100-million civil extortion lawsuit against Aston Martin in a California Federal court, naming company CEO Andy Palmer, chief spokesman Simon Sproule, and chief creative officer Marek Reichman as defendants. Based on the overhead-view sketch, the English carmaker believes that The Force 1 is "strikingly similar to several of Aston Martin's cars, including the DB10" from the movie Spectre. At the same time the carmaker's letter to Fisker admitted that it doesn't know what the final design will look like, but it appears that the carmaker's intent to "protect its valuable rights if necessary" could not make way for patience. Or perhaps Aston Martin is trying to prevent another Thunderbolt episode before it starts. That incident last year involved the carmaker suing Fisker over his reimagined Vanquish, with the two settling the matter out of court. Fisker says The Force 1 has isn't based on an Aston Martin, and as part of the lawsuit submitted a design breakdown of both the DB10 and The Force 1. Fisker's latest is apparently in partnership with VL Automotive, the company that's been threatening to release a V8-powered Karma sedan for years now, and the Detroit show organizers say they've been working with VL, not Fisker. The lawsuit seeks the $100 million for punitive and compensatory damages and court costs, alleging that Aston Martin's actions "would subject [Fisker] to public humiliation, embarrassment in the industry, and significant financial losses." The public allegations go even further, Fisker's lawyer Jonathan Michaels saying that the English brand, "In an effort to protect itself from further market erosion... conspired and devised a scheme to stomp out Henrik Fisker's competitive presence in the luxury sports car industry." News Source: Wall Street Journal Design/Style Government/Legal Detroit Auto Show Aston Martin Fisker Coupe Luxury Performance lawsuit Henrik Fisker spectre aston martin db10

Henrik Fisker opens up about EVs

Danish car designer Henrik Fisker is an interesting figure in the automotive world. After heading up design at Aston Martin he created the initial design for the Tesla Model S before launching Fisker Automotive. There, he created the Karma range-extended electric sports car. As we all know, the company eventually went bankrupt, leaving Mr. Fisker's future in question. Now he's back on the scene with his $230,000 supercar, the VLF Force 1, which debuted at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Interestingly the V10-powered Force 1, along with VLF's V8-powered Destino, is a huge departure from the green machines for which Fisker was responsible not too long ago. If that makes you curious as to what's going on inside the talented head of Henrik Fisker, you're not alone. Thankfully, Fisker has opened up to Tech Insider, discussing his thoughts on EVs and the future of the automotive world. While Fisker was part of the EV revolution – in his words, showing that "electric cars can be beautiful and exciting and fun to drive" – mass adoption has been slower than he originally predicted. The field is still too limited, with not much available in terms of what people want to buy. The driving range, too, is a huge obstacle to EV uptake, but that is slowly improving. "The choice for consumers is still fairly limited, but in my mind there's no doubt electric cars are here to stay," says Fisker. "It is going to be a growing segment and it will continue to grow." Fisker, however, is bearish on hybrids, despite their popularity. In his opinion, "electric cars will take over a lot of hybrids quicker than people think now." In an interesting prediction that defies more commonly held beliefs, hybrids don't have a place as a transition to EVs anymore. As infrastructure grows – along with battery capacity – people will "jump straight from gas to electric rather than make the transition to hybrid which is what a lot of car companies are betting on." It's an interesting point of view, to be sure, especially coming from a man who just recently took a pretty big leap from electric cars back to supercars whose fury is fed by fossil fuels. Take a deeper look into the mind of Henrik Fisker in the piece from Tech Insider. Related Video:

Fisker delivers first Ocean One Launch Edition in Denmark

Danish car designer and eponymous automaker Henrik Fisker delivered the first Ocean One Launch Edition crossover in his native land, stopping by the Fisker Center+ in Copenhagen to deliver the keys to the new owner. The unit came in Great White over black, 22-inch AirGlider wheels, with white Alcantara seats set among a Sea Salt interior. Being the Launch Edition, it came with the most powerful 550-horsepower dual-motor drivetrain and nearly option, like the 17.1-inch swiveling infotainment screen and SolarSky roof. The dual-motor AWD Ocean One packs a 113-kWh battery powering a range of 436 miles in Euro testing on the 22-inch wheels specced on retail delivery #1. If the customer had chosen the 20-inch wheels, range would be 440 miles. Either number is enough to get from Copenhagen to Stockholm for a seaside vacation with the Ocean. Just after the Denmark celebration, Fisker flew to Munich, Germany, to commemorate the first Ocean registered in that country, a car delivered to Henrik himself. He also opened the new Fisker Lounge in the center of town and a showroom at the company's local headquarters in Munich Motorworld.  On this side of the Atlantic, the company spent last week addressing its Q1 results and expectations for deliveries. Headwinds continue for EV makers of all sizes, but Fisker told analysts he expects the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to certify the Ocean this month so that deliveries can commence in June. If that timetable holds, all 5,000 examples of the Ocean One Launch Edition should meet their new owners by the end of September, around the same time the top-trim Ocean Extreme — the serial production version of the Ocean One Launch Edition without all the standard goodies — begins deliveries.  Even more recent news suggests a trim package on the way that could almost be considered a fifth trim. Not long after the Ocean debuted in 2020, Henrik Fisker teased an off-road version called the Force E, which stands for Force Electric. At the time, the overhaul was touted as a fleet option for companies who needed "an extreme off-road package" with items like a brush guard, big beadlock tires, and a water spout set into the front bumper. The latest Force E package targets the camping set with a stouter roof rack, new front and rear bumpers, tow hooks at both ends, and less aggressive non-beadlock 33-inch tires on 20-inch wheels. Inside, the options sheet extends to grab handles, tiedowns, and rubber floors.