X-Bow - KTM’s Track Day Terror
The 1500-pound car has a four-cylinder Audi engine offering 220 horsepower in the base model, and a potential 300 horsepower in a more expensive variant. A choice of either a six-speed manual or DSG gearbox will be given. KTM says the X-Bow will hit 62 mph in well under four seconds.
The X-Bow has no windshield, and instead will come with specially designed helmets, intended to offer shelter from the elements rather than full crash protection.
The first 100 will be ready on the starting line in 2007 and will be manufactured in-house by Italian racing car specialists Dallara and sold by KTM. The price for the basic version will be around 40,000 euros. How green backs is that? I think about $54,000.
This compact, purist two-seater will have a carbon fiber chassis and a modern four-cylinder FSI turbo engine from Audi. By doing away with the unnecessary encumbrances of a normal sports car, the KTM X-Bow will deliver a driving experience equivalent to motor sports.
If all goes well, KTM plans further small series productions of the car. This production will take place in Austria and begin in 2008. KTM is working on the basis of a projected 500 units per year. Coming to the good ole U.S. of A? No word yet!
But the X-Bow isn’t just a racing machine, even if it is going to accomplish spectacular performance feats on racing circuits. With its modern technologies and exceptional solutions, it’s much more oriented towards sporty drivers who seek a purist’s driving experience. By foregoing electronic assistants and today’s standard comfort features, the X-Bow offers an unfiltered adventure – aided by its standalone wheels in the style of monoposto racing cars, transparent technology and the car’s reduced concept, i.e. no roof, doors or windscreen. The sports car has only a 70-millimeter, transparent wind deflector.
With all these unique features, driving the KTM X-Bow becomes an experience with an immediacy that otherwise can only be felt when riding a motorcycle.
The KTM X-Bow will be street homologated in accordance with European small series homologation regulations. But since the respective guidelines are defined differently throughout the EU, KTM currently anticipates standardising the X-Bow in the following countries: Germany, Finland, Greece, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Switzerland.
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