VL Automotive
VL Automotive is a small American-based automotive company founded by Bob Lutz and Gilbert Villarreal.
VL came to public attention in 2013 when it displayed the Destino, its first model, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Company history
The company was founded by ex General Motors chairman Bob Lutz and industrialist Gilbert Villarreal. The company's name is taken from the initials of their surnames.[1]
In May 2013, VL was linked with Chinese company Wanxiang with a possible pre-bankruptcy buy-out of Fisker Automotive.[2] VL already has a relationship with Fisker, and Wanxiang had purchased Fisker's battery supplier A123 Systems out of bankruptcy.[2]
Products
The VL Destino four-door sedan was first shown in January 2013, heavily based on the Fisker Karma, but fitted with a 6.2 L V8 petrol engine rather than the electric power of the Karma.[1]
Sales of the Destino is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2015, and cars will be built in Auburn Hills in Michigan,[3] but the company only obtained twenty Fisker Karma "gliders", and reported 100 orders by May 2013.[4] At the January 2014 Detroit Autoshow, the company announced that production was delayed due to the on-going restructuring of Fisker.[5]
References
- 1 2 Lavrinc, Damon (14 January 2013). "Fisker Karma Gets a 638-HP Corvette Heart Transplant". Wired. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- 1 2 Seetharaman, Deepa (21 May 2013). "Bob Lutz, Chinese in bid to buy Fisker Automotive". Reuters. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ↑ Nunez, Alex (14 January 2013). "Destino: Bob Lutz's Corvette-powered Fisker Karma". Road & Track. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ↑ Smith, David (3 May 2013). "Fisker Woes Won’t Dash Destino Plans". Wards Auto. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- ↑ "Detroit reveal for VL Destino convertible". Autocar. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
External links
Official website(Archive)
