If you’ve forgotten about Karma Automotive, you’re forgiven as the company has been keeping a low profile and making an assortment of changes behind the scenes.
However, it’s impossible to ignore the elephant in the room – a lack of product. Nearly three years ago, we were involved in a media briefing where the company dropped the first official details about their upcoming crossover.
At the time, Karma said the GX-1 would be launched in late 2022 and ride on a new platform. Officials went on to say the crossover would be offered with electric and range-extended powertrains.
More: Karma GS-6 Debuts With Familiar Looks And $83,900 Starting Price
The ill-fated Karma GX-1
Of course, 2022 came and went without a crossover. 2023 is also coming to a close and the GX-1 remains nowhere to be seen. However, the brand isn’t dead as Karma will unveil a family of “battery-electric sports tourers, including its first super coupe” on November 11.
The upcoming models are slated to begin arriving in 2024 and transform Karma into a ‘proper’ brand rather than an automaker selling an aging dinosaur. As part of that effort, Karma President Marques McCammon tapped Michelle Christensen, of second-generation Acura NSX fame, to create an entirely new lineup in a mere eight months.
Christensen described this as the “challenge of a lifetime” and noted that “designing vehicles – especially high-end exotic vehicles – historically takes several years.” However, she contends the company has created “an animal that is very pure, a beautiful new flagship/halo that is all at once futuristic and will age gracefully.” She went on to say Karma is “creating low, long and fast vehicles that compare favorably to any high-end European brand.”
Karma’s senior director of design, Nicholas David, suggested the interior will be more spacious than your typical exotic as “we took the elements that encroached on passengers and made them explode away.” That’s vague, but he added the “cleanliness of the interior is remarkable” and they’re “showing sophistication by hiding everything in plain sight … until it’s needed.”
