Thursday, June 23, 2011

The KTM X-Bow

The motorcycle specialist manufacturer KTM celebrated the world premiere of its first-ever car at the Geneva Motor Show in 2007 when the X-Bow was born. The company sounded out the exclusive lightweight sports car market with an aggressive design and a spectacular concept, complete with carbon fibre monocoque and purist, minimalist fittings.

Following an overwhelmingly positive response from sports car enthusiasts and motoring media all around the world, the decision was made to go ahead with further development for the series production model of the KTM X-Bow.

Now, on the anniversary of that world premiere, KTM exhibits the results of the continued development, showing the production-ready version of the KTM X-Bow for the first time and in the exclusive form of the ‘X-Bow Dallara’ which will be a limited-edition of just 100 units.

It says a lot about the dedication of the KTM engineers and testifies that the concept was so ‘right’, that the series production model unveiled at Geneva stage looks so similar to the original car. The original character of the KTM X-Bow is not watered down with only a few concessions to meet technical, legal and practical requirements. The central inlet to the air box is higher and larger and alterations to the instrument panel are the most noticeable changes.

The original spirit of the KTM X-Bow is retained and it is still ‘ready to race’. The first series production vehicles for customers will be seen on the road in the late summer of 2008.
Puristic and Avant-garde: The Concept


The most outstanding technical feature of the KTM X-Bow is its carbon fibre monocoque. This avant-garde material and construction technique has been highly developed for use in Formula 1, racing cars and expensive exotic sports cars for the road. Its use by KTM places the X-Box in a privileged position among a small, but elite group of puristic lightweight sports cars.

This monocoque, which is manufactured by the specialist Wethje in Southern Germany, incorporates a crash box at the front and a solid sandwich structured floorpan and creates a structure that delivers safety without compromise. At the same time the sophisticated carbon fibre material is also the key to the vehicle’s status as a lightweight sports car. The KTM X-Bow weighs just 790 kilos.

The monocoque was developed together with the Italian racing and sports car specialist Dallara (in whose honour the first 100 limited-edition cars are named). The Italian company also assisted with the development and tuning of the chassis, which will be offered in two configurations. In the series production model, the chassis comes with a double wishbone and push rod suspension at the front.
As an optional extra, KTM can supply the X-Bow with a motor racing chassis, which features altered suspension geometry and settings and is also fitted with a pre-load adjuster so that the clearance of the vehicle can be varied. On this chassis version, the shock absorber elements from WP are adjustable in both rebound- and compression damping.


The production KTM X-Bow is powered by a lightweight, compact, high performance, high efficiency 2-litre Audi TFSI engine that is the perfect complement to the car’s character. In contrast to the original concept the Audi engine now boasts a 177 kW (240 bhp) output, with maximum torque of 310 Nm. The KTM comes with a six-speed manual transmission with close-set ratios. Thanks to its low weight the KTM X-Bow can exceed the performance of many supercars that are twice as powerful. It can accelerate to 100 kph in just 3.9 seconds. The fuel consumption has been set at a preliminary value of approx. 7,5 liter at 100km.

With its puristic concept, supercar performance, immensely capable chassis and aerodynamics that have been purposefully tuned to generate downforce, the KTM X-Bow is the perfect car for the racing circuit – as well as the road.
The KTM X-Bow, with its advanced technology and radical technical solutions is directed at enthusiasts who are seeking a genuine, unfiltered driving experience.


To ensure that it is a road-legal car, KTM has already certified the X-Bow for use in most European countries. With the general ratification of the new ‘European Small Series Homologation’ regulations scheduled for first quarter of 2009, the road-legal status will be extended to include all the countries of the European Union. Further export markets are constantly being examined.

1 comment:

  1. This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here keep up the good work armi e frecce

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