Bob Lutz is a car guy through and through, having served as a top exec in automakers like BMW, Ford, Chrysler and, more recently, General Motors. Even he, though, acknowledges that the new generation has no interest in driving and that soon cars will be self-driving transportation appliances.

Lutz, being who he is, told Fortune magazine that “in the meantime, I’m building a 200mph luxury car that celebrates everything about the spirit of automobiles that has captivated me since the age of 3”.

He’s referring, of course, to the Destino – essentially a Fisker Karma that’s had its electric motors and batteries replaced by GM’s LS9 supercharged V8 from the Corvette ZR-1.

Ditching the EV parts in favor of the 630HP ZR-1 engine made the Destino around 1,000 pounds lighter than the original saloon. Thus, Lutz reasons, “with its huge power and slippery shape be, it should be among the fastest four-door cars in the world, with an (un)usable top speed of around 200 mph (320 km/h).

Although Fisker went bust, there’s no denying that the Karma was a successful design. Ditching the “sparky bits” in favor of the V8 reduced the car’s curb weight by 1,000 pounds. Thus, Lutz reasons, “with its huge power and slippery shape, it should be among the fastest four-door cars in the world, with an (un)usable top speed of around 200 mph (320 km/h)”.

He credits his friend and business partner Gilbert Villarreal as being the one who came up with the idea: “Gilbert wondered if his favorite car style-wise, the Karma, could be combined with his favorite high-performance car, the ZR-1.”

So, Villarreal bought a number of Fisker prototypes and Corvette LS9 V8s. Being something akin to an automotive guru, Lutz knew that this was far more difficult than it looked. Sure, removing the battery pack and all other electric parts and installing the V8 was easier than expected. getting to satisfy all federal safety and emissions laws was a much more time- and money-consuming task.

VL Automotive, the company behind the Destino, is part of the (well–funded, according to Lutz) GreenTech Automotive group. Thus, it can complete its program and deliver the first cars to VIP customers before the end of this year.

The plan calls for a production rate of less than 1,000 units per year, with a price tag in the US$200,000 ballpark. Lutz describes the Destino as “nimble, with precise steering, confidence-inspiring brakes, rocket-sled acceleration – and all this performance comes wrapped in a quiet, luxurious interior”.

Thus, Henrik Fisker vision of a zero-emissions luxury saloon may well end up as a limited-production nicely sculpted four-door rocket with a supercharged internal combustion powerhouse under its hood. Well, it would be a waste for such a pretty shape to be thrown to the gutter and to hell with these zero emission thing. Hats off to Mr. Lutz, please…

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