Aston Martin Being Sued for $100 Million by Designer Henrik Fisker

Fisker said “Aston Martin is trying to intimidate me to prop up their own flailing company and to mask their financial and product deficiencies”.

All we know about The Force 1 so far is that it’s a two-seat luxury coupe with big flared fenders and ample hood scoops. After Fisker showed a teaser image of a new design dubbed Force 1, Aston Martin wrote a letter asking Fisker not to show the real-life vehicle at the upcoming 2016 Detroit Auto Show. And according to Fisker’s lawsuit, “Aston Martin’s letter admits, ‘We do not know what the final version of Fisker’s Force 1 will look like'”. Despite the fact that only a sketch of the model was revealed until now, Aston Martin saw fit to send Fisker a letter in which it demanded the designer to either modify the supercar’s design or simply not bring it at NAIAS.

Jonathan Michaels, Fisker’s attorney, told Automotive News that the cars exhibit “vastly different” proportions.

Sure, since departing Aston Martin, he was also in charge of drawing the ill-fated Artega GT and starting the unsuccessful Fisker Automotive company, for which he penned the Karma luxury plug-in hybrid.

The renowned auto designer is claiming damages after Aston Martin requested his company, Fisker Automobiles, cancel the launch of its Fisker Force 1 because it believes the new sports car’s design bears significant resemblance to its own products.

The letter reportedly claims similarities between The Force 1 sketch and Aston Martin’s limited-run DB10 produced for the “Spectre” James Bond movie. That saga ended when Fisker agreed not to produce the Thunderbolt. Aston Martin ended 2014 with an over $105 million deficit, as the Financial Times reported, and Fisker Automotive filed for bankruptcy that year. Or does Fisker’s Fisker look like an Aston Martin, whose stylistic underpinnings look to be influenced by Fisker, at the very least? “I refuse to be intimidated and that is the reason for today’s filing”. After Volkswagen was hit by the US government, Aston Martin is now the target of former head of design Henrik Fisker, who seeks $100 million United States dollars for alleged “civil extortion”, The Detroit Bureau reports.

We reached out to Aston Martin for comment, but haven’t heard back yet. The letter said that Aston Martin would “not hesitate to protect its valuable rights”, which Mr. Michaels said constituted a threat of litigation.

Either way, the Force 1 is said by Fisker to have a “front/mid engine, featuring amongst the world’s highest output natural aspirated engine in a road vehicle, driven by the rear wheels either by a six-speed manual or optional paddle shift auto box”.