Last weekend, Henrik Fisker decided to take a Fisker PEAR prototype for a spin around Los Angeles. Passersby filmed the lightly disguised vehicle, and the video ended up on Fiskerati’s YouTube channel. On December 6, Fisker sent images of the prototype to Autobild and Autocar, showing that testing it was the slightest concern. The idea was to get people talking about Fisker’s entry-level car – and it worked.
We did not know the vehicle’s development was so advanced. What probably helped was the fact that the Personal Electric Automotive Revolution (PEAR) only needed a nice design to fit the MIH Open platform. Developed by a consortium led by Foxconn, the open-source platform received a specific name for the new Fisker: FP28.
Autocar talked to Henrik Fisker, who was the first to admit the new vehicle is hard to classify. It looks like a hatchback on high heels, which some people would rank as a crossover. His designer prefers to call it a “futuristic little space shuttle.”
The sketches Fisker shared in the past give us an idea of what the camouflage tried to hide the most. However, patent images published by Fiskerati do a much better job. The disguise attempted to cover the rear doors, which help to build a thick C-pillar. The rear windows are also disguised. Fisker tried to hide their rectangular shape, which allows them to integrate almost seamlessly with the back glass. That covers the D-pillar in a way that makes it look as if the roof floated behind the C-pillar.
The patent images also showed how one of the leading design solutions in the PEAR would work. Fisker christened it as the Houdini trunk because it disappears, but we had no idea what the designer and CEO meant by that. Now we do.
The rear glass lowers inside the tailgate, which also sticks into a compartment behind the rear bumper. It is doubtlessly an elegant solution, but it will not be very practical on rainy days: the conventional tailgate usually provides protection that the PEAR will not have. Another first is that the PEAR will not have a frunk: it will have a front drawer. Let's hope it can hold reasonably heavy loads and that it is not just a gimmick.
The new Fisker will arrive in 2024. Foxconn will manufacture it for the startup at its Lordstown factory, which has a capacity for 250,000 vehicles per year. The plant is going through changes, and its workers still need to be trained, which is probably why the PEAR will have to wait at least one more year before hitting production lines. The 310-mile (500-kilometer) range will come with a $29,900 price tag for the most affordable derivative.
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