Normally, when an automaker wants to toughen up a crossover, it slaps on some extra cladding, a slightly chunkier set of all-terrain tires, and various trim accents. Not Fisker, because this EV startup is going berserk. Fisker has announced something called the Ocean Force E, a hardened overlanding variant of its Ocean crossover dreamed up by the company’s whimsically-named Magic Works Division. While this special team hasn’t made the Ocean fly or turned it into a toad, it has been working on comprehensively beefing it up to handle the rough stuff. Although live photos of the finished product haven’t been released yet, Fisker put out these renderings to whet our appetites, so let’s learn a little more about the regular Ocean and then grab a bite.
The Ocean is Fisker’s shot at making a splash (heh) in the extremely-competitive EV crossover arena. Built in Austria by Magna, this Ford Edge-sized crossover promises up to 350 miles of range, an available solar roof, and a starting price of $37,499. While American deliveries haven’t started yet, European customers have started to receive their Oceans, making this very much a real car. It looks like a smartly-designed daily driver, although it could use some help off the beaten path. This is where the Force E comes in.
Let’s start with the rolling stock: A set of 33-inch tires that are frickin’ huge for a vehicle in this segment. These tires come wrapped around 20-inch wheels that Fisker claims are specially-reinforced for off-road use, although it’s yet to be seen whether they’re beadlock capable. Behind each wheel sits special off-road dampers, although Fisker hasn’t mentioned if they’re branded or simply private-label pieces.
Underneath the Ocean Force E sits something that’s normally vulnerable to rocks – a massive battery pack. Thankfully, Fisker aims to mitigate potential punctures with a full-length titanium battery skid plate. Combined with dedicated front and rear skid plates, it means that the entire underside of this electric crossover should be armored. I wonder if this means you can skip it across a lake like the Speed Zone Countach? In addition to all the underbody armor, the Ocean Force E gets new valences and skirts for improved clearance angles.
Because electric vehicles traditionally don’t have low range, Fisker is compensating for that with a business park’s worth of output – 550 ponies, in fact. While a torque figure hasn’t been published, experience with EVs suggests peak torque in a similar ballpark, occurring from zero RPM. That should be enough low-end grunt to crawl through most places you dare to go in a crossover, combined with plenty of on-road shove.
As for cosmetic and recreational add-ons, the 500-pound gorilla in the room is that wicked available roof basket. While a basket on the roof of just about any car has the potential to make lots of noise on the highway, it should let owners store tons of gear on the roof and it looks to be removable for daily driving. Otherwise, easily-accessible recovery hooks will come in handy when one of these gets stuck, dimpled fender flares look pretty nifty, and the word “FORCE” is written on the doors and over the body in what appears to be Nickelodeon ooze. Add in optional rubberized flooring, and this looks like it could be the total package.
Henrik Fisker seems to be pretty stoked on the Ocean Force E, saying “We have pulled out all the stops on this one. I think it’s exciting to enter the segment. And for those who love to go offroad and enjoy nature, what better way than with zero emissions?”
The compact off-road EV segment really doesn’t have anything in it right now, so the Fisker Ocean Force E seems like it would be a welcome expansion of the EV arena. We’re obviously going to observe a healthy bit of skepticism here, since these are clearly renderings, and the car looks a bit “out there,” but apparently deliveries are expected to start in the fourth quarter and if you do have an Ocean reserved, you may not need to swap reservations to get the off-road goodies. Fisker claims the Force E package can be retrofitted to any all-wheel-drive Ocean Extreme or Ocean Ultra, though it looks to me like it’d be a fairly extensive job. Again, healthy dose of skepticism, but it does look fun.
(Photo credits: Fisker)
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Fisker taking a page out of the book of Elon. A smoke and mirror vaporware operation to take attention away from Fisker failing to meet the promised production volumes and as a result a falling stock price.
They’re delivering cars. Not many so far, but they’re being delivered. While it’s vaporware at this point, the underlying vehicle is very much real. This has a chance.
Extreme! Ultra! Force! These sound like names an 8-year-old boy came up with while playing with robots. Is their target demo the alpha male?
If not alpha males who else would drive these tough trucks to the mall to pick up a gallon of milk?
Can DT who have some jeep / off road engineering experience explain to us what is an ideal EV platform for off roading? (heavy weigh will be a given) But since chassis is so still stiff due to battery placements what can the manufacturers really do?
Very ‘Epic Bacon’
If they are going to broadcast vaporware, at least do the renders in magic marker and pencil so we know someone put some effort into it.
More and more this is looking like how contract manufacturing should work. Designer designs something, realizes they have no aptitude for making said thing. Finds folks who have skill making said thing. They come to an agreement and get the product to market. Everyone profits.
Horsey Force-E