Fisker Inc. Teases a New High-Performance, Grand Touring Electric Sports Car, Says it Will Have the Longest Range of Any Production EV

author: FutureCar Staff    

EV startup Fisker Inc. teased a new high-performance electric sports car in development under code name “Project Ronin”.

California electric vehicle startup Fisker Inc. is getting ready to start building its first model in November, the battery powered Fisker Ocean SUV. After the debut of the Ocean, Fisker is also working on a secretive second vehicle under its "PEAR Project", which stands for "Personal Electric Vehicle Revolution".

Now Fisker has teased what will be its third electric vehicle, a high-performance sports car in development that Fisker calls "Project Ronin". The vehicle will rival high performance electric vehicles including the Tesla Model S Plaid and Roadster, Porsche Taycan, Mercedes-Benz EQS and Lucid Air Sedan and other premium EVs.

Fisker said the code name "Project Ronin" was inspired by the film of the same title that's known for its famous car chases. Fisker said that development of the Ronin concept started last year with the goal of creating a futuristic Grand Touring sports car suitable for long road trips while carrying four adults and their luggage.

Fisker's founder and CEO Henrik Fisker is an automotive industry veteran and is best known for designing iconic luxury cars, including the BMW Z8 and Aston Martin DB9. Now he leads the electric car company that bears his name.

Fisker expects to reveal Project Ronin in August 2023, with production starting in the second half of 2024.

"The aim is to achieve the world's longest range for a production EV, combined with extremely high levels of performance," said Mr. Fisker. "Project Ronin will be a showcase for our internal engineering, powertrain, and software capabilities."

Lucid Group currently has the longest range EV on sale. The company's Lucid Air sedan can travel over 500 miles of range on a single charge, so Fisker has its work cut out.

Although details of Project Ronin are still under wraps, Mr. Fisker's brief to the company's engineering team was to use the "most advanced, lightweight materials and focus on range, performance, and overall driving experience." 

Project Ronin will also feature active aerodynamic technologies and an innovative structural battery design, with the pack integrated into the chassis of the vehicle, according to Fisker.

The vehicle will feature unique doors to make its easier to enter and exit the vehicle. It will feature what Fisker describes as a "luxurious, sustainable vegan interior that plots a new, advanced design direction." 

Fisker which was founded in 2016, is among a new crop of electric vehicle startups, including Lucid Motors, Rivian, XPeng and NIO that are aiming to capture some of the success of Tesla, which over the last decade has grown to become the world's most valuable automaker with a market cap topping $1 trillion dollars.

The Fisker Ocean SUV gets its name from the use of recycled plastics throughout the vehicle's interior. Most of the interior materials are made from plastic waste collected from the ocean that would otherwise become pollution and hazards for marine life, including plastic bottles and fishing nets. 

The entry level Fisker Ocean will offer a minimum range of 250 miles, according to Fisker. The electric SUV will offer an optional solar panel roof which the company claims will deliver roughly 1,000 miles of additional range over the course of a year. The Ocean's battery pack is designed to accept direct charging from the solar roof using an innovative engineering integration strategy.

Fisker said prices for the fully-electric Fisker Ocean will start at just $37,499. It will also be eligible for the Federal EV tax credit of $7,500, which drops the price to $29,999.

The Fisker Ocean SUV on display at the LA Auto Show on Wed Nov. 17, 2021.

The Fisker Ocean, being built by Magna International's Austrian subsidiary Magna Steyr, which is also supplying the Ocean's EV platform. It's Magna's first contract manufacturing deal with an EV startup.

Contract manufacturer Magna International is an ideal partner for EV startups like Fisker, which doesn't own an auto factory. Magna already has a big presence in the auto industry and has worked in the past with some of the world's biggest automakers, including BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Mercedes Benz. 

BMW contracted Magna International's subsidiary Magna Steyr to build its popular X3 SUV in Graz, Austria from 2003 to 2007. The company also built the renowned Mercedes-Benz 4-Matic all-wheel-drive system for the German automaker.

More recently, Magna Steyr has built the BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra, which share core components.

Fisker's second vehicle under development as part of Project PEAR will be built by iPhone assembler Foxconn. Fisker entered into a MOU with Foxconn in Feb 2021 for a project to develop what it calls a "breakthrough electric vehicle".

The PEAR EV is slated to be produced in Lordstown, Ohio, with a minimum initial production of 250,000 units per year. Production is planned for Q4 2023.  

In Nov 2021, Foxconn announced its entered into an MOU to purchase the former GM auto factory in Lordstown, Ohio from EV startup Lordstown Motors. The deal was expected to close on April 30, but has been delayed.

In Oct 2020, Foxconn announced that it aims to provide components or services to around 10% of the world's electric vehicles (EVs) between 2025 and 2027.

Fisker officially opened reservations for its Project PEAR EV February. Interested customers can reserve a PEAR EV for just $250 for the first reservation and $100 for the second reservation. Deliveries will begin in 2024, according to Fisker.

Although Fisker is taking reservations for a vehicle that the public has not even seen before, the company says that the PEAR EV will be an innovative vehicle. 

The fully-electric Fisker PEAR will blend sustainability, technology, and design into what Fisker describes is a "a digitally connected, compact, five-passenger urban EV". It will feature intuitive controls, sporty driving, clever storage, and a focus on industry firsts, according to Mr. Fisker. 

In Nov. 2021, Fisker and Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd ("CATL") announced a formal agreement for CATL to supply the batteries for the upcoming Fisker Ocean electric SUV.

Under the terms of the agreement, CATL, which is also Tesla's battery supplier in China, will supply two different battery types for the Fisker Ocean, with an initial battery capacity of over 5 GWh annually from 2023 through 2025.

According to Fisker, the primary high-capacity pack in the Ocean will use a lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) cell chemistry, while the second will be built using CATL's latest cells based on lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) chemistry. 

Following Tesla's lead, Fisker plans to sell the Ocean, as well as subsequent EVs, directly to customers. Mr. Fisker said during the Ocean's unveiling at CES that he plans to take out every single "middleman" involved in the purchase of a traditional vehicle and deliver the Ocean SUV directly to customers, so the vehicles are more affordable.

Mr. Fisker said the company will not have a network of dealers or a website for online sales. Instead, all interactions with the Fisker brand will be done via the automaker's app, including selecting the Ocean's options and purchasing or leasing it.

Mr Fisker says that Fisker Inc will be the "world's first digital car company".

FutureCar Staff