2012 Fisker Karma

2012 Fisker Karma

The Fisker Karma range-extended electric sedan will  be racing through the Alps in the inaugural Bodensee-Elektrik Rallye, which commences today and travels across some of Europe’s finest driving roads before concluding on May 6.

The rally starts on the shores of Lake Constance in Bregenz, Austria and then crosses some 400 miles through Germany, back into Austria and then into Switzerland.

The event is specifically designed to showcase and test the durability of pure-battery and range-extended electric cars, both in terms of speed and economy.

There are four main categories including battery-powered electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf, fuel cell range-extended electric cars like the Mercedes-Benz B Class F-Cell, range-extended electric cars that rely on an internal combustion engine, like the Fisker Karma, and plug-in hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt.

While the Fisker Karma should do well thanks to its 408-horsepower EVer drivetrain, when it comes to economy it’s likely to be beat by plug-in hybrids like the Volt. As for top speed contests, competitors better hope that Audi’s R8 e-tron or the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell prototypes aren’t competing.

In fact, in the similar 100-mile Silveretta EV Rally back in 2010, the R8 e-tron was declared the overall winner.