Karma Automotive has built a track-focused plug-in hybrid with a 6.2-liter V8 and a combined output of nearly 1,200 horsepower, and only one customer will ever get it. The Eximius 1 is a one-off, with delivery planned for 2027 and no price disclosed.
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It is the first car from a new bespoke program at the California automaker, a business that has spent years trying to turn the remains of the Fisker Karma into something collectors take seriously.
Eximius 1 powertrain: a V8 generator and 645 hp of battery power
Karma says the Eximius 1 pairs a V8 acting as a generator with a battery-driven electric side, in a series plug-in hybrid layout where the engine charges the system rather than driving the wheels directly. Autoblog lists 550 horsepower from the V8 and 645 from the battery for a combined figure of nearly 1,200, while Carscoops rounds the electric side to roughly 650 horsepower. Karma expects 0 to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds and a top speed above 200 mph, and it calls the car the most powerful plug-in series hybrid ever developed.
Carscoops says the engine sounds like a General Motors unit, though Karma has not named a source for it in the material reviewed. The distinction matters because a series hybrid sends the V8's energy through generators and the battery, so the 550 horsepower figure describes electricity generation rather than torque delivered to the road. Karma has not published a battery capacity, an electric range or a curb weight, which are the numbers that would show whether the 2.7-second sprint to 60 mph is repeatable on a track.
The hardware around the powertrain is built for circuit work. The car rides on 21-inch center-lock magnesium wheels, stops with carbon-ceramic brakes and two-piece slotted rotors, and uses Öhlins semi-active suspension, according to Autoblog’s report from Las Vegas. Carscoops adds a wider track and the presumption that the aluminum spaceframe from the Fisker era sits underneath.
Four Recaro seats, a kill switch and Borealis Blue
Unlike most track specials, the Eximius 1 keeps four seats. Carscoops describes Recaro bucket seats trimmed in Alcantara in Borealis Blue and Moondust, a motorsport-style emergency kill switch on the center console, and a carbon-fiber racing helmet mounted between the rear seats. Outside, the greenhouse, roofline, lights and doors carry over from the donor car while new bumpers, a vented hood, carbon fender extensions, wider side skirts with aerodynamic fins, a diffuser and a fixed rear spoiler change the silhouette.
The paint is Borealis Blue with white graphics and exposed carbon fiber, a scheme that Autoblog also saw on the Amaris preview at Monterey Car Week in 2025, which suggests the bespoke car borrows from the company's wider design language.
Reports differ on the donor. Autoblog says the car is a more aggressive Revero, whose standard powertrain is a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder, which makes the V8 a sizable departure. Carscoops says it is a beefed-up Gyesera, the model succeeding the Revero, and notes the Gyesera recently moved from fully electric to a range-extender setup producing a combined 566 horsepower. Karma's own newsroom lists the car alongside both models, which were displayed next to it at the show.
A bespoke program for nine clients
Karma announced the program on October 31 and showed the car under a cover between a Gyesera and an Amaris at the Concours at Wynn Las Vegas, according to the company's newsroom. Carscoops reports it is open to nine special clients, each of whom can commission a one-off with unique styling and mechanical changes. Autoblog compares it to Porsche's Sonderwunsch program and Rolls-Royce's Coachbuild effort, but notes Karma allows extensive powertrain changes, not only paint, panels and interiors.
Marques McCammon, president and CEO of Karma Automotive, said the Eximius 1 began as a conversation with an elite client who loves a Karma Revero but wanted something more extreme and unexpected, which he described as music to the company's ears. The buyer remains unnamed, and Carscoops speculates the finished car could be the most expensive Karma yet given how much was changed.
The one-off as a Revero send-off
The Revero dates to 2016 and evolved from the Fisker Karma, the luxury plug-in sedan that was left orphaned when Fisker collapsed financially. Autoblog calls the Eximius 1 a loud send-off for that line. Karma's roadmap is already moving on: the Gyesera is slated for December 2026, the two-door Amaris GT for the fourth quarter of 2027, and the Kaveya EV, planned with a solid-state battery, for the first quarter of 2028, with the Ivara EV to follow later.
Single-customer cars have become a way for small automakers to raise their profile, and the closest comparison in Autoblog's coverage is the Bugatti Brouillard, which reportedly cost $20 million. Whether Karma's nine-client program fills up will show whether wealthy buyers see a Fisker-descended brand as worth a custom commission. For now, the Eximius 1 has one buyer, a 2027 delivery date and a combined output that remains Karma's own claim until independent testing arrives.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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