Fisker confirms BMW 3-series turbo engine will power Atlantic, still hoping to build in Delaware

Although plans haven’t been finalized for the upcoming Fisker Atlantic (plans like, say, determining if Fisker will even have enough money to build the car) the company has already figured out what will be under the hood: an engine from the BMW 3-series.

Fisker has inked an agreement with BMW to use the current 3-series 4-cylinder turbo engine in the Atlantic, which should be priced around $55,000 when (if) it makes it to market, Fisker CEO Tony Posawatz told the Automotive Press Association Monday. The start-up automaker is about $150 million short of the cash it needs to build the Atlantic, which, like the Chevrolet Volt, uses advanced batteries to power an electric motor and then kicks in a gasoline-powered engine as a backup when needed.

Poswatz is pretty optimistic the company will reach that goal. He’s prepping Fisker to become a publicly owned firm, traded on the stock market like rival automaker Tesla. And even though the Department of Energy hasn’t forked over more than half of the $529 million loan it promised Fisker to build the Atlantic in Delaware, Posawatz said the company is still on track to make the car there. He also said that strategic partnerships and figuring out a lease program for are on his list of things to do.