Tulsans will be among the first to see the Fisker Karma, the world’s first premium plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, when a pre-production model of the car is in Tulsa for a six-hour viewing tomorrow.

In its eighth stop on a 42-city tour, the Fisker Karma will make its premier appearance in Tulsa at Don Thornton Cadillac, 3939 S. Memorial Drive, for an invitation-only reception from noon to 6 p.m. The event is part of a tour celebrating California-based Fisker Automotive’s new North American retail network.

The Fisker Karma combines world-class luxury and sports car-like performance with industry-leading economy and zero tailpipe emissions.

Don Thornton Auto representatives are excited to be able to represent the product in the Tulsa market, said Tom Bloomfield, general manager.

“We jumped on the bandwagon a couple of years ago and approached them about being a retailer for them,” he said. “We have already received many inquiries about this vehicle, and I am excited to be able to show it to our potential customers.”

Bloomfield said that although the model making the tour is pre-production and customers will not be able to drive it, it will look like the production version, and Fisker will have an engineer on site to answer questions.

He said production worldwide is expected to be about 15,000 a year, which will make it “a very limited car to get your hands on.”

“We will be lucky in Tulsa, even if we have people who want to buy the car, to get one every other month,” Bloomfield said. “We hope to get at least one a month. It’s going to be that kind of car. It’s an $87,000 car, but that doesn’t really scare anybody because it will compete with S class Mercedes and the 7 series BMW. It will be different because it’s going to be an electric car.”

With 403 horsepower, it can reach 60 mph in six seconds and a top speed of 125 mph, yet it can achieve more than 100 mpg on an annual basis. The Karma has a total range of 300 miles, 50 of which are electric-only and powered by a lithium-ion battery from A123 Systems that can be fully recharged in as little as eight hours.

The four-seat sedan was designed by Fisker Automotive CEO Henrik Fisker, who also designed the Aston Martin DB9 and BMW Z8, both of which were featured in James Bond movies.

Although the viewing is intended as invitation only, Bloomfield said those truly interested may contact him or Adam Ford at adam@donthornton.com, and they will try to arrange a time to see the car and talk to the engineer.