In a delicious dose of irony, struggling electric car maker Fisker looks to have been saved by a petrol-burping, tyre-shredding V8.

Former General Motors executive Bob Lutz has hatched a plan to save Californian company Fisker, which has allegedly been facing a dire financial situation for months, by buying incomplete cars and fitting them with massive, supercharged V8s.

In fact, Lutz plans to use the same 430kW 6.2-litre supercharged LSA unit that will be found in Holden’s new VF HSV GTS.

The V8 will replace a pair of 150kW battery packs that currently power the stylish Fisker Karma.