Both the term Karma and the concept of reincarnation have their origins in Eastern religion. Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Revero is a reborn Fisker Karma, and we’re going to decide just exactly how its price determines its destiny.
Having been kind of curious of late on the matter, we asked what you all are doing to deal with rising fuel prices. Your answers ranged from driving less to simply ignoring the problem and, like all your money, hoping it just goes away. Under no circumstances, it seems, would any of you face the challenge of rising fuel costs and potential shortages with physical effort.
That aversion to exertion meant that the fully enclosed recumbent E-trike we looked at last Friday was a non-starter from the get-go. And that wasn’t just because it would take some effort on the pedals to get it going. An $8,000 price tag only added insult to sweaty injury, as the trike took a tumble in a towering 87% ‘No Dice’ loss.
Second time’s the charm
Today, we are going to look at another vehicle that is claimed to be extremely efficient at covering miles, but, more to our liking, comes with four wheels, four doors, and sleek, designer good looks.
This 2021 Karma Revero GT represents the second coming of the Fisker Karma hybrid that was launched in 2012. Fisker went under a year later (shocking, I know!) and, through bankruptcy court, sold the rights to the car, along with all the tooling, to the Chinese company, Wanxiang, in 2014. Wanxiang moved production of the Karma from Finland to Moreno Valley in California’s sprawling Inland Empire and relaunched the car, now called the Revero, in 2016. In a bit of efficient juggling, the Karma name was elevated from model cognomen to the brand name. Gone from the original car was the handlebar mustache grille, now replaced by a nose that eerily resembles the original Tesla Model S. The interior also saw some changes; no longer made from recycled pleather and sustainable woods, it now features a more traditional leather-and-fabric trim.
Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the Revero is that it’s still in production to this day, a full decade after its resurrection. That’s five times longer than Fisker managed! To date, the company has produced around 1,100 Reveros, and has AI models of imagined future cars on its website.
My Karma ran over your dogma
While the swoopy cabin and sexy exterior are the most obvious of the Revero’s calling cards, its most interesting aspect is the drivetrain. Like the Fisker before it, the earliest Reveros used a 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder as a generator for the battery pack that straddles the car’s spine. In 2020, that was given the heave-ho for a 1.5-liter turbocharged triple from BMW: the same engine, in the same capacity as that company used in the i8. At the same time, the battery’s capacity was upped from 21 to 28 kWh.
The task of powering the Revero’s wheels falls upon a pair of permanent-magnet AC electric motors that, combined, deliver 404 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque to the tires. This setup is claimed to give a range of 70 miles on the battery alone and a further 280 miles once the gas engine gets in the game.
According to the ad, this Revero has a mere 23,500 miles on the clock and is claimed to be in “excellent” condition overall.
Tight quarters
As noted, it’s also a very good-looking car, and the fact that it still looks like it’s from the future — fully 12 years after its introduction — proves that Henrik Fisker knows his way around a drafting table. Of course, the low roof and rearward-shifted cabin do result in some compromises. The interior is tight and will only accommodate four, as the battery pack in the center tunnel acts like the Berlin Wall in the back.
Despite that, it looks like a fairly pleasant place to spend some time, with eclectic blue-and-black upholstery livening things up. There’s also a big screen in the center stack and a lot of switchgear that appears to have come from Volkswagen, so it’s probably pretty solid stuff. It’s all presented as clean, with no obvious signs of wear, befitting its relatively young age and low mileage.
Things are similarly tidy under the hood and on the outside. Painted in stealth black with matte-finish alloys allowing glimpses of red-painted Brembo brakes, the car comes across as both elegant and exotic.
Priced to sell!
The current owner says, “I love this car like no car I’ve ever owned before.” Such an ode demands a rationale for the sale, which is given as an impending move from the U.S. to Costa Rica, where they say the Karma just wouldn’t fit in. To encourage a quick sale, the price has been set at $42,500, which the seller claims is well below the $55K to $60K the car is supposedly worth. It should be noted that the price tag on a brand-new Revero is north of $160,000, so this lightly used one is a bargain by comparison. We should also acknowledge that there is a lien on the title. I don’t know why we should, but we should.
Okay, with all that in mind, what’s your take on this rare Revero and that $42,500 asking price? Does that feel like a deal to get a second-chance car at a bargain basement price? Or is that crazy money for a cramped car from a marque that no one has ever heard of?
You decide!
Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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