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EPA Rates 2020 Karma Revero GT With 61 Miles of EV Range

Penned by Henrik Fisker of Aston Martin DB9 fame, assembled in Finland by Valmet Automotive, then redesigned by Chinese company Wanxiang as the Karma Revero GT, the plug-in hybrid luxury sedan before you is much better than the original. The Environmental Protection Agency has rated the all-electric range to 61 miles or 98 kilometers, making the Karma the next best option after the Polestar 1 performance-oriented grand tourer with plug-in hybrid propulsion.
2020 Karma Revero GT 11 photos
Photo: Karma Automotive
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Without further beating around the bush, we’re talking about a difference of 65 percent over the original. Total range went up by 37.5 percent to 330 miles for the 21-inch wheels, and the combined rating of 26 miles to the gallon is all the more impressive given the size and weight of the new Karma Revero GT.

As far as internal combustion is concerned, the plug-in from Moreno Valley, California has switched from a 2.0-liter General Motors four-cylinder range extender to a 1.5-liter turbo three-cylinder engine from BMW. Looking at the bigger picture, the combined MPGe rating of 70 is still far off the competition. Even the Toyota Prius Prime managed 133 MPGe and 54 combined.

On the other hand, we shouldn’t ignore the fact that Karma has come up with a status symbol with bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful styling instead of a world-class PHEV. Because pricing starts at $135,000 before options and destination, sales volumes shouldn’t surpass those of the Toyota Prius Prime either.

Compared to the 2018 Revero, the 2020 model year makes use of a 28-kWh battery instead of 21.4 kWh. Acceleration from zero to 60 takes 4.5 seconds as opposed to 5.4 seconds, and the dual-motor RWD layout features torque vectoring to better handling in the twisties. Total system output? Make that 535 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque, translating to a top speed of 125 miles per hour.

The curb weight of 5,050 pounds is better than the 5,407-pound Revero before it, but nevertheless, care to guess how much a Tesla Model S Long Range weighs? The scales would show 4,941 pounds, and that’s extremely impressive for a full-size luxury sedan with a 100-kW battery and two electric motors.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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