Henrik Fisker released the first photo of the Tesla rival he says will be driverless
Automotive designer Henrik Fisker just showed us the first image of his long-range electric car, adding that it will be fully autonomous one day.
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Since the shot was taken at night and only shows the front of the car, there's only so much we can glean from this particular image. However, Fisker told Business Insider that the small trapezoid center you see in the front has a radar and camera to "provide future autonomous capability."
Fisker said he is teaming with a supplier to develop the self-driving tech, but declined to disclose which one. The car is being developed by Fisker's newly minted company Fisker Inc.
"We at Fisker Inc. will offer fully autonomous as an option when it is fully developed and approved by our supplier," he told Business Insider.
In an email to journalists last week, Fisker gave us our first glimpse of the car, showing it has butterfly doors. The email states the car has a "larger interior than its closest competitor" with a focus on a user experience that brings "technology and streaming content into a simple logical order." The structure will be made of carbon fiber and aluminum.
Fisker is aiming to reveal the electric car in the latter half of 2017 as part of his newly minted company Fisker Inc. Fisker said he is planning to use new battery technology being developed by his battery division, Fisker Nanotech, to achieve a 400+ mile range.
Fisker said the cars will use graphene supercapacitors instead of traditional lithium ion batteries. The car will most likely be produced by VLF Automotive, an auto company Fisker joined in January.
Fisker first told Business Insider in July that was interested in designing a car that incorporated self-driving tech.
But in October, Fisker said he didn't believe automakers themselves should develop self-driving tech.
"I probably have a very controversial view on autonomous driving versus anybody else in the auto industry," he said in the October interview. "I don't believe that it makes any sense for an automaker to develop autonomous driving."
However, he did say at the time that suppliers should be the one developing and integrating self-driving tech. Fisker is taking that very approach with his electric car, stating that the car will be fully autonomous once the capability is developed and integrated by the supplier he declined to name.
Fisker told Business Insider that the electric car will fall in the same price as a high-end Tesla Model S and will most likely be built at VLF Automotive, the auto company Fisker joined in January. That car will pave the way for a more consumer friendly electric car that Fisker claims will be cheaper than the Chevy Bolt and Tesla Model 3, which are priced at $37,500 and $35,000 before federal tax exemptions, respectively.
Fisker has bold plans for his electric car now that he's committed to it achieving a range over 400 miles, which has yet to be achieved by any automaker, as well as support full autonomy that's solely developed by a supplier.
Fisker is currently producing his supercar, the Force 1, through VLF Automotive. He is best known as the automotive designer behind iconic cars like the BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin DB9. Fisker was the force behind a luxury hybrid called the Karma. The Karma had a host of battery issues before the company behind the car, Fisker Automotive, ultimately went bankrupt.
Fisker told Business Insider that he sees Tesla as his big competition once he releases the electric car.
"I think it's pretty clear when you look at the market, when you look at the premium market, there's really only one company that is out there, and it's Tesla," he said.