Fisker Coachbuild's First Creation to Be Revealed

[BMWDave]

Fisker Coachbuild's First Creation to Be Revealed
Date Posted 08-03-2005

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. ? Henrik Fisker, former Aston Martin director of design, has announced the first two models of his recently established company will be introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

After having spent nearly 15 years at various prominent brands such as BMW and Aston Martin, Fisker started Fisker Coachbuild with Bernhard Koehler, former head of design at Ford. The new company is dedicated to resurrecting coachbuilding traditions and introducing limited-edition sports cars.

So far, a sketch and some details have emerged on one of the Fisker designs. The Tramonto, as it will be called, is a two-seater convertible sports car with distinctively exotic features. The most intriguing characteristic is the grille, which is meant to suggest the design of the F/A-22 Raptor aircraft by its opened center and two laterally extending wings.

The vehicle will be assembled by hand at the company's Southern California plant using exclusive, high-quality materials. Equipped with a 610-horsepower engine, the Tramonto is said to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds.

What does it mean to you: Like fine Old World wine-making grapes that have flourished in the fertile soil and welcoming sun of Southern California, perhaps Italian-inspired automotive exotica can also thrive and prosper.

[Raza]

Very nice--but for once, I'd like to see an affordable sports car.  The closest a boutique has come is the Panoz AIV Roadster, which was still roughly 60 grand.

[BMWDave]

Their symbol looks somewhat similar to the BMW roundel, and the car has a lot of traces of Aston Martin design.

[Raza]

Their symbol looks somewhat similar to the BMW roundel, and the car has a lot of traces of Aston Martin design.

Yeah, I saw Aston as well.  But it also looks like the Spyker C8 convertible, so I'll let them slide until I see something more substantial than a sketch.