Karma Family Cars

Karma Automotive is back in the news, this time for the introduction of its latest vehicle called the GS-6. The GS-6 is essentially the Revero GT that the company revealed in the past, but with few significant changes. Karma plans to use the Revero moniker for a future, upmarket product.

Anyway, the GS-6 is a plug-in hybrid vehicle that debuts in the “new luxury” segment; a term coined by Karma to perhaps create a new niche. The GS-6 is not priced as exorbitantly high as the previous products and starts under $100,000.

Three years after the Karma Revero hit the market, Karma Automotive has launched the updated version of its hybrid sports car. It’s called the Karma Revero GT and it comes with plenty of improvements over its predecessor beyond the addition of the “GT” suffix. The Revero GT looks more evolved than the Revero. It comes with an updated interior and a revised powertrain lineup that includes the addition of BMW’s 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine. Karma Automotive hasn’t released the official price of the Revero GT, but expect it to sell for more than the $135,000 price tag of the outgoing Revero. It’s a steep price, which begs the question: is the Karma Revero GT worth $135,000?

The Karma nameplate has a long and less-than-glittering history. First appearing as a hybrid-powered GT sedan from Fisker Automotive in the late 2000s, the original Karma only lasted for about a year before biting the dust. Fisker Automotive produced less than 2,700 examples before it went bankrupt in 2013, after which the Wanxiang Group Corporation bought up the remaining assets. Recently renamed to Karma Automotive, the company charges headlong into the premium hybrid GT segment with the Revero. The Revero first appeared in 2016 for the 2017 model year, and now it is getting a refresh with a new look, updated interior, and powertrain parts sourced from the BMW i8.

The Karma nameplate has a rather checkered past, first appearing on an ill-fated hybrid GT sedan from Fisker Automotive in the late 2000s. After Fisker Automotive went bankrupt in 2013, the China-based Wanxiang Group Corporation purchased the assets, renamed the company Karma Automotive, and set about fixing the vehicle’s many lingering issues. Now, five years later at Auto Shanghai, Karma Automotive is ready to reveal the fruits of its labor with three new models that springboard off the original Karma’s impressive design.