In 2009, a company calling itself Kepler Motors revealed its Motion hybrid supercar at the Dubai International Auto Show. The concept produced a claimed 800 horsepower, and was capable of sprinting from 0-60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds, on its way to a 200 mph top speed.
At the time, Kepler said that only 50 Motion models would ever be built, with deliveries beginning in 2012. Since then, the company has been largely silent, which generally isn’t a good sign for a boutique supercar manufacturer.
Now Kepler has released a series of three videos, found on Green Car Reports, showing the Motion in action on the roads of southern California. While the car isn’t being driven hard, it’s clear that the Motion is moving under its own power, and it’s also clear that it sounds fantastic. Listen closely, and you can even hear the whine of the twin electric motors over the sound of the turbos spooling up.
Power comes from a tuned Ford EcoBoost V-6, good for an estimated 550 horsepower, driving the rear wheels. This combines with a pair of front-mounted electric motors, which produce another 250 horsepower and provide the Motion’s traction-enhancing all-wheel-drive.
While the Motion is a hybrid, it’s aimed at performance and not fuel economy. Kepler hasn’t published fuel economy estimates, and we can’t even say how large the car’s lithium-ion battery pack is. We seriously doubt it can be driven in a pure electric mode, either.
Will the Motion see production by the end of the year as originally planned? We can’t answer that, but the fact that a self-powered test mule exists is a good sign. We’re all for supercars in any form, and we sincerely hope that Kepler’s Motion shows up on the 2013 auto show circuit.