X-Bow Debuts

When KTM boss Stefan Pierer describes the X-Bow as "the world's most exhilarating car," you wouldn't dismiss the statement out of hand; just looking at it, you know that it has all the right ingredients at least to be on the short-list. And it might be the first four-wheeled product from a company best known for its sporting motor bikes, but you can see that they clearly know what they're doing even with twice the wheel-count.

What's more, the X-Bow (say it Cross-Bow) has gone from concept to production reality so rapidly that you just know they're serious players. They describe X-Bow's mission as "to bring the purity of the motorcycling experience and the spirit of the KTM brand to four wheels." They also say it was developed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, and that the concept was lifted directly from racing principles.

You can appreciate the motorcycle philosophy, too: low weight with strong power gives a great power to weight ratio and terrific performance. So the X-Bow is constructed around an immensely rigid but super-lightweight carbon-fiber monocoque chassis and powered by a very carefully chosen engine - a 240-horsepower version of Audi's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that is the lightest, most compact and most economical engine in its class. That is mounted transversely behind the cockpit to keep the X-Bow's wheelbase usefully short and its weight distribution beautifully balanced.

It is mated to a six-speed manual transmission with the option of sequential shifts, and the rest of what hangs around the superbly-crafted tub is all race-bred, from the adjustable wishbone and pushrod suspension to the high-performance ventilated-disc brakes to the wide choice of very light alloy wheels.

They also designed the X-Bow for what's important in the real world, so its aerodynamics are optimized for downforce, grip and handling balance rather than low drag and an even higher maximum speed that will rarely be of any relevance. They say the combination of flat carbon-kevlar underbody and large rear diffuser gives up to ten times as much high-speed downforce as some similar cars.

So the open two-seater is as focused as any sporting car you'll ever see; and again in Stefan Pierer's own words, it is "extraordinary, extreme, pure, sporty, ready to race." It makes a stunning road or track-day car, too, of course, but Stefan has just one word of warning: "beware - it's addictive!."