KTM Launches New X-BOW GTX 12 Years After Its First Generation
Incredibly light and peaking at 600 horsepower.
12 years ago, motorcycle manufacturer KTM‘s CEO Stefan Pierer introduced the brand’s first-ever car to the world at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, and since then, more than 1,300 of the KTM X-BOW racers have been sold, making the Austrian creation one of the world’s most popular low-volume productions ever. Now, more than a decade on, the brand has decided to revisit its design, bringing welcome upgrades to modernize the vehicle. Weighing just 2,200 pounds and equipped with a new Audi 2.50-liter five-cylinder TFSi engine, the X-BOW GTX’s GT2 trim can push out a whopping 600 horsepower, giving the racer a power-to-weight ratio of an impressive 4.4 pounds per horsepower.
“We transfer KTM’s essential brand elements – extreme, performance and purity – together with KTM’s core areas of expertise, which include state-of-the-art motorsports technology, extremely lightweight construction and the highest quality components, in a racing car that clearly reflects the signs of the times,” says Hubert Trunkenpolz, KTM’s board member. “In motorsport, it is necessary to focus development on a superior power-to-weight ratio to be even faster with economical, more efficient small volume engines. The knowledge acquired from this process must then also be incorporated into the series development.”
The first 20 units for the racer will be produced this year, with more to come in 2021. Pricing information has yet to be released though, so keep an eye out for more updates to come.
Elsewhere in the automotive world, Aston Martin has unveiled its jet-inspired V12 Speedster.
