The (Fisker) Karma Revero Is Finally Dead After 14 Years … But Not Really

The Fisker Karma had it all when it was unveiled in 2008. The luxury sedan designed by Henrik Fisker combined dramatic styling with a high tech 403 hp extended range electric vehicle (EREV) drivetrain, the type that may be about to reshape the U.S. auto industry in the coming years.

It was basically an electric car that could go 33 miles on battery power that had a gas engine on board to generate electricity for longer trips and eliminate range anxiety. It first went on sale in 2011 for $95,900 alongside the mainstream Chevrolet Volt, which was similar in concept. Ram and Ford will soon be launching EREV full-size pickups now that their fully electric trucks have been canceled.

The Karma was initially built in Finland under contract and beat the all-electric Tesla Model S to market, but things went all wrong for Fisker in 2012 when it was hit by a battery recall, the bankruptcy of its battery supplier and the destruction of a shipment of 338 Karmas by Hurricane Sandy at a port in New Jersey. A year later, it went bankrupt itself and its assets were purchased by China’s Wanxiang Group in 2014 with an eye on relaunching it as a U.S. based automaker.

It did just that, using Karma Automotive as the name of the brand and renaming the car the Revero, coined to evoke “renewal” using Latin roots. It was back in production in California with refreshed styling in 2017 and was updated several times in the following years, upping the power to 536 hp, swapping its GM-sourced engine for a BMW unit and receiving a larger battery that gave it 80 miles of all-electric range.

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The Revero remained a niche product that sold in the dozens each year as Karma worked on developing new models. It currently lists for around $125,000. Well, it did until Dec. 23. That’s when the last Revero was unveiled. The green example is knicknamed Aeterna, which is an actual Latin word for “eternity.”

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And the name is fitting again, because the Revero’s platform will live on in Karma’s next model, the Gyesera. It has a restyled body and interior, 566 hp powertrain, 80 miles of range and a starting price estimated at $165,000.

The Gyesera is meant to be a “bridge” to Karma first fully in-house developed model, the Kaveya, which is an all-electric coupe with 1,000 hp and a $300,000 price tag that’s expected to go on sale sometime in 2026.