This is the Fisker Karma – a 461bhp saloon capable of 100mpg.

Officially launched at the Detroit Motor Show, the Fisker Karma is a plug-in hybrid four-door saloon which uses a 2-litre turbocharged petrol engine developing 260bhp and two electric motors producing the equivalent of 201bhp.

The result for the Maserati-esque Karma is 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds and a top speed of 125mph.

But while it’s quick, it’s also green and is capable of 100mpg – thanks to the car’s ‘Q-Drive’ plug-in hybrid system.

Owners of the Karma will plug it in to a 110-, 220-, or 240-volt electric supply and to charge the car – and when on full charge the Karma is capable of 50 miles with zero emissions in ‘Stealth’ mode.

Switch to ‘Sport’ mode and car is capable of 300 miles whereby the conventional petrol engine turns into a generator to power the electric motors, enabling the 100mpg figure.

The thought behind this is that 60 per cent of American drivers travel less than 50 miles per day. 

While hybrids are seen as the must-have car in Tinseltown, they generally lack style with the Karma the first genuinely pretty car of its type.

And Fisker Automotive has seriously ambitious plans for the car considering the economic time.

The American car maker says it has already received 1,000 orders for the Karma – with the sexy saloon built by Valmet Automotive in Finland with production beginning this year. 

There are no details on whether the Karma will go on sale in the UK, but if it does expect the world’s first performance plug-in hybrid to cost more than the $87,900 (£60,000) American price-tag.

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