Six-Figure Makeovers for Luxury Cars That Aren’t Enough
Henrik Fisker’s business plan revolves around peeling off the exterior of a new Mercedes-Benz or BMW and ripping out most of the interior, then creating a head-turning exotic car from what remains.
The limited-edition luxury-performance models from Fisker Coachbuild will ride much like the originals but will cost $128,000 over the sticker price.
That’s right: A Fisker will run you a cool $200,000 to $300,000 -- with a $50,000 down payment required.
Fisker is intent on creating a modern version of the artisan auto shops that flourished until World War II, making unique bodies for the cars of moguls, maharajahs and movie stars.
The celebrated Danish-born auto designer quit last winter as head of design for Ford Motor Co.’s advanced studio. At Ford, Fisker created the stylish, $169,000 Aston Martin DB9 coupe. Before that, he drafted BMW’s Z8, a low-slung shark-shaped roadster built from 2001 to 2004. The Z8 is so coveted that a 4-year-old model sells for close to its original $130,000 price.
But after seeing his designs watered down by corporate budget and marketing needs, “I just thought that I could do better design on my own than in a big company,” Fisker said.
In its first year, Fisker Coachbuild of Newport Beach will customize only the ultra-fast Mercedes Benz SL55 AMG roadster and the BMW 6-Series coupe. Thereafter, Fisker will choose two different cars each year to serve as the underpinnings for his new designs. Production is scheduled to begin in April.
The $300,000 top price is for a roadster with a $43,000 performance tuning option that boosts engine output to 610 horsepower. That puts it in the rare 600-horsepower club, along with the $440,000 Porsche Carrera GT and $652,000 Ferrari Enzo.
One of Fisker’s first sales was to Pennsylvania pharmacy owner Harris Bordgoff, who has owned several Fisker-designed cars, including a BMW Z8.
Bordgoff said he recently put down a $50,000 down payment on a new Fisker roadster “almost sight unseen. All I saw was a sketch, but that was enough. It’s the look I’ve been seeking for 25 years, kind of like the classic Jaguars, but built like a Mercedes.”
Fisker, 42, said he was backed by 10 investors, but declined to identify them.
“We got infected with the entrepreneurial virus,” said Fisker’s partner, Bernhard Koehler, 41. The two began their careers in BMW’s European design studios in the early 1980s. Their company is called Coachbuild to differentiate it from failed car-making enterprises such as the late John DeLorean’s DeLorean Motor Co. and Malcolm Bricklin’s Bricklin Motors.
One difference is that while Fisker Coachbuild will design new exteriors and interiors, it will leave the engineering, manufacture and assembly of powertrains, suspensions, electrical systems and other crucial parts to established automakers.
Various subcontractors will execute Fisker’s designs and supply parts that will be assembled at a plant in Irvine. Initially, the company will make 300 cars a year. He said the firm would be profitable after 150 sales.
“This is really tough competition he’s jumping into,” said Roy Adler, a Pepperdine University marketing professor and specialist in consumer behavior.
“There’s already a bewildering array of equipment you can buy to customize any car,” Adler said. “What problem will his cars solve that will persuade people to plunk down a quarter of a million dollars for one?”
Fisker’s answer: “We are providing a unique, beautiful design for people who want to have a car that is different.”
The first step for Fisker customers is to buy a new Mercedes-Benz or BMW from a dealer. Those cars will then be turned over to him for reconstruction.
So a $127,875 Mercedes SL55 AMG roadster would become a $255,855 Fisker Tramonto -- the name means sunset in Italian. And a $69,900 BMW 650 would evolve into a $197,900 Fisker Latigo, named for Malibu’s Latigo Canyon.
In addition to installing new exteriors of carbon fiber, milled aluminum and high-strength steel, Fisker will reshape dashboards, center consoles and instrument housings; transform seats and door panels; and cover much of the interior in hand-sewn leather.
He won’t alter the powertrains -- unless the customer orders a special tuning package -- and plans minimal modification of the suspensions, so his finished products will drive pretty much like the original vehicles.
Fisker has built a pair of working prototypes of his first two models. In a short test drive of the Tramonto recently, the 610-horsepower sports car accelerated with a deep resonance no stock Mercedes-Benz could ever approach. Fisker’s car handled smoothly, with its seven-speed automatic transmission seamlessly providing the proper power applications.
A California Highway Patrol officer eyed the rumbling roadster at a traffic signal and followed for a bit, but found no reason to pull it over. When the CHP car disappeared, a quick jab of the right foot showed the car capable of neck-snapping acceleration.
Fisker has no deal with Mercedes or BMW, but said he expected the original factory warranties to remain in force. He will preserve most of the cars’ original safety equipment, including air bags, collapsing steering columns and side-impact stiffeners.
Today, most cars use “unibody” construction in which the frame and the body are all of a piece. As a result, it would be almost impossible to do single, unique body designs today because the cost would be prohibitive, Fisker said. But he believes there is money to be made in limited edition custom design.
“It’s a pretty intelligent plan,” said Stewart Reed, chairman of Pasadena-based Art Center College of Design’s transportation program and a former Toyota and Chrysler designer. “In the old days, coachbuilders didn’t have such an array of regulations to deal with.”
Fisker uses his two prototype models as marketing tools to woo prospective clients.
Comedian and car collector Jay Leno saw them at a private showing for backers of the Petersen Automotive Museum and was taken by their looks and precision fit: “They look as if a watchmaker did the work.”
Some claim that Fisker’s cars bear a strong resemblance to Aston Martins. Leno disagrees: “They don’t have a lot of Aston in them; they have a lot of Fisker.”
