This week a Twitter thread popped up debating the origins of a strange prototype spotted in traffic. It seems to me that the car is a Fisker Ocean test mule. But more interestingly, after seeing it here, I think we can tell what Henrik Fisker’s upcoming electric SUV will be based on. Or at least, what car it will share some strong relationship with.
You remember Fisker, right? Its Karma sedan was a potential Tesla Model S contender when electric cars still seemed novel, but it ultimately failed to be a business success. The company’s been back on the industry’s radar in a small way since we started hearing about the electric Ocean SUV — a production version is expected to show up at the LA Auto Show in November. Henrik himself, of course, has been in the car business for decades and helped bring some of the world’s prettiest cars (BMW Z8, Aston Martin V8 Vantage) to life over the course of his career.
Anyway, Mr. Fisker tweeted a picture of an obscured camo’d Ocean recently, and coincidentally a very similar (the same?) car popped up spotted in Los Angeles traffic earlier this week, shared by Twitter user Dennis Pascual. No one could figure out what it was, except for me, your resident Chinese car enthusiast. The proportions, taillights, and wheels are a dead ringer for the Arcfox Alpha-T, a Chinese Tesla Model Y competitor.
So why was this car camouflaged, though? The Alpha-T has been on sale for close to a year now in China, and it’s not like people would know what that brand is here in the United States.
Well, because it’s probably not an Alpha-T, that’s why. It’s a Fisker Ocean prototype, which might actually be a restyled Arcfox Alpha-T. The proportions, lighting elements are identical to the Alpha-T, and the camo job looks just like what Henrik Fisker tweeted on October 6. Either Fisker is using the Alpha-T body as a distraction (seems unlikely) or this is a strong indication that the Chinese car and upcoming Fisker will be closely related. One never likes to assume things, but, it does seem probable that the Fisker Ocean will have a lot in common with the Arcfox.
In fact, Fisker has an agreement with Magna to build the Ocean. The Arcfox Alpha-T, sold by BAIC, is also built by Magna.
Now, I could be wrong here, but from what I see, this prototype is like a Fisker Ocean, which likely will share a lot with the ArcFox Alpha-T. Here, we’ll screenshot that tweet and compare it to an Arcfox press image and you’ll really see that it’s clearly the same body:
If the Ocean is indeed based on this, the Alpha-T doesn’t seem to be bad starting point. In base trim, the car gets a single motor producing 218 horsepower. Upper-level models get two motors, with a combined output just shy of 430 horsepower. Range seems to be competitive with the Tesla Model Y, and the Chinese base price (about $37,000 when converted) is a little cheaper than the Model Y, and right on target for what Fisker said the Ocean will cost. Of course, it’s possible that the Fisker will have different power levels and specs, too.
We dropped notes to Fisker, Magna, and Arcfox and haven’t heard from them, but we’ll update this post if they get back to us and add anything to this discourse. Otherwise, I guess we’ll probably see what the deal is with the Fisker Ocean in a few weeks at the LA show.
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