What you see above is the first official shot of the Fisker Karma hybrid vehicle in production-ready guise. No surprises for guessing there’s no front-view available as Fisker is keen not to ruin the surprise. Fisker Automotive has confirmed it will showcase the luxury saloon at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show.

The Karma is not expected to detour greatly from the prototype images released a year ago (and which featured a somewhat challenging ‘face’). Its appearance in Detroit will silence many critics who were doubtful that the hybrid car would ever make it to market.

The Karma will be powered by a 2.0 litre turbo-charged four-cylinder engine, sourced from General Motors, which will combine with a 22.6kWh electric motor to provide the equivalent of over 300kWs. This should see the Karma reach 100km/h from standstill in around 5.8-seconds, on to a top speed of 200km/h.

While the aesthetics might not be to everyone’s taste (count us as fans so long as something’s been done about that front), the combination of performance and eco-friendly motivation is hard to ignore. Pricing and availability is yet to be announced but we’re expecting more info closer to Detroit. Watch this space.

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