2023 Fisker Ocean One on 2040-cars

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Fisker fills in more details on the electric Ocean crossover

With two years go to before Fisker commences deliveries of the all-electric Ocean crossover, we're in for many months of piecemeal updates. The fledgling California automaker has released another smattering of details after debuting the Ocean at this month's Consumer Electronics Show, helping to fill in some functional aspects. At 182.7 inches long, 76 inches wide, and 63.6 inches high, the Fisker is 0.6 inches taller than the Ford Mustang Mach-E, 3.3 inches shorter in overall length, and two inches wider. The dimensions translate into 20 cubic feet of cargo room with the rear seats up and the parcel shelf installed, 25 cu. ft. without the parcel shelf, and 45 cu. ft. with the shelf out and rear seats down. At the other end of the interior, the instrument cluster is 9.8 inches, and the infotainment screen is a 16-inch vertically-oriented unit with haptic feedback. In between, designers did their best to source eco-friendly materials to create a "vegan interior." The Dinamica seating surfaces are derived from old T-shirts, polyester fibers, and recycled plastic, with reinforced rayon backing. The carpet comes from recycled nylon taken from discarded fishing gear. Fisker also says it will recycle rubber waste created during the Ocean's production. The standard wheels come in 20-inch sizes, with 22-inchers on the options sheet. Roof rails and a tow hitch will be options, too, but we'll need to wait another year to find out towing capacity. Turns out the announced entry price for $37,499 is for a base model that doesn't benefit from all-wheel drive, meaning it also doesn't get the more-than-300-horsepower powertrain. When we covered the reveal, we wrote, "Fisker quoted between 250 and 300 miles of driving range depending on driving conditions," so it's possible the base model notches 300 miles while the AWD version comes in closer to 250 miles. The Ocean gets an 80-kWh battery pack. For comparison, there's a 20-mile range delta between RWD and AWD versions of the Mach-E with the Standard Range 75.7-kWh battery pack. A high-performance Ocean will get a larger pack, targeting acceleration to 60 miles per hour in under three seconds, a fair chunk faster than the 3.5-second sprint for the Tesla Model Y Performance. Details on that model won't come until 2021. At some point this year, tire kickers will be able to explore the Ocean in person at Fisker experience centers, and set up test drives through a mobile app due next year.

Fisker Ocean shows its Revolve infotainment screen

Fisker Automotive is finally spotlighting a feature that got talked about at the global debut of the Ocean SUV at last year's L.A. Auto Show, but we didn't see in action. It's called Revolve, and does just that to the Ocean's 17.1-inch infotainment screen. Vertical orientation is called Control Mode, when occupants are using the screen for all of the typical infotainment purposes. At what we imagine is the press of a button, the screen rotates 90 degrees clockwise to enter what's referred to as Hollywood Mode, wherein its 16:9 aspect ratio would make it ideal for watching movies and playing games. Screen sounds get piped through a 16-speaker audio system. The cinematic rotation can only be had while parked, we're told. Buyers who want the presto-change-o viewing options might need to step to the top of the Fisker Ocean range; we know Revolve will come standard on the top Extreme trim. It will also be included with the Ocean One, but that model is limited to the first 5,000 units built. The series production Extreme starts at $68,999 before destination, comes with a dual-motor AWD powertrain putting out 550 horsepower, and is expected to get more than 350 miles on a charge. It's unclear at the moment whether the entry-level Ocean Sport and midgrade Ocean Ultra will offer Revolve as an option. When in Control Mode, the screens will be running a custom infotainment software Fisker is developing with Japan's Sharp Corporation, running on screens developed just for Fisker's line of vehicles. The company said, "Our collaboration with Sharp is set to create exciting new automotive display systems, featuring innovative backlight solutions to improve illumination without increasing power consumption – in addition to class-leading resolution, bezels, and design." The Ocean is slated to enter production at a Magna Steyr facility in Austria in November. If history is a guide, initial deliveries will prioritize more expensive reservations.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Henrik Fisker interview, and driving the Polestar 2 | Autoblog Podcast #643

Did Katy Perry really just buy five Fisker Karma PHEVs for her employees?

We'll admit it, this is a strange little story. California Gurls singer Katy Perry was apparently so smitten by the California automaker Fisker that she bought five of the company's plug-in hybrid Karma for members of her staff. Reports say that she spent $500,000 dollars on the cars. Of course, this might all be nonsense. Everyone is saying that the original source for the news is the Daily Star, but there's no such report on the DS website. Then there's this obviously wrong quote from "a friend" of Perry's: "They are completely electric and top of the range in car luxury but she hates the smog in the air in LA. In total she spent over half a million dollars on the cars and now her conscience is clean." Karmas are not all-electric, of course, and if all it takes is money to erase your conscience, then we say well done, Ms. Perry. So we have to wonder if this isn't some elaborate prank designed to draw new celebrity attention to the Karma, since it's been a while since Justin Beiber had his own chrome Karma dreams. Or maybe people are just making things up. Either way, we like the idea of the Perry watching Paranoia and thinking, "I should get that status symbol for my posse."