KTM, the Austrian maker of high-performance off road motor bikes has shaken up the sports car world with the KTM X-Bow. Like KTM motorcycles, the X-Bow is a hot performer, without any creature comforts.
The KTM X-Bow is all about performance, performance, and it certainly show it. It can reach 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, and 100 mph in 8.52 seconds, which puts it up in the supercar category.
The acceleration is faster than the Audi R8, Jaguar XKR or Porsche Carrera S. It is matched by some other ultra-lightweight super sports cars like the Lotus 2-11, and is a little slower than the Caterham CSR, which reaches 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. Even so the performance is remarkable.
Audi 240 bhp Turbo engine
So how did KTM do it? They started by using an Audi 2.0 liter turbo engine, which not only produces 240 bhp, but also produces stacks of torque at almost all speeds. This is mounted transversely in unit with the transaxle amidships, the layout adopted by Lotus for its models.
Then, KTM went to Dallara, the well-established Italian maker of small racing cars , for the carbon fiber body structure. Dallara makes the bodies, and is also building the first 100 cars. After that they will be built in KTM's new factory at Graz, Austria.
KTM X-Bow looks completely different
The KTM X-Bow looks like nothing else on the planet – this is no copy of the traditional open-wheeled sports car, but a car that is so different to look at you are puzzling over what's what. First, it is very short compared to its width, and has unusual body panels.
As the radiators are behind the cockpit, there is no front grille, just the bluff front of the body with some cowling above. The front wishbones are visible, and the tiny headlamps are mounted just in front of the pivots for the rocker-arm suspension.
The almost horizontal spring/damper units are concealed by the front cowl, which stops short of the wheels, which are covered by cycle-type fenders.
There is also a wide cowl behind the cockpit, and these two cowls are the only real 'body panels'; otherwise you see the black carbon fiber hull. There are a few more functional panels, such as the flat front chin and horizontal panels that run back to below the radiators to maintain a flat bottom. These also serve as running boards.
The radiators are mounted in pods, with louvered air outlets behind, and the rear cowl slopes up above to generate downforce.
Power train right at the back
There is no body at all behind the engine, which has a large muffler mounted crosswise right at the back, where it acts as a crashbox – a neat piece of design. The rear suspension is tucked above a diffuser panel, which combined with the front splitter, flat bottom and cowls, result in positive downforce at speed.
KTM says that there is 440 lb (200 kg) downforce at 120 mph, and 105 lb (48 kg) at 60 mph. This is quite good, but is limited by the transversely mounted engine, so there is less room at the rear to get the air away compared with a fore-and-aft engine installation.
Simple cockpit, with instruments on steering wheel
The cockpit is amazingly simple, with the gear lever poking up from the tunnel, and all the instruments mounted in the hub of the steering wheel. This is not a cheap solution, but a good one for a car of this type. All the control buttons are on the hub of the wheel, where they can be reached without taking your hands off the wheel.
240 bhp version of Audi engine
KTM succeeded in getting the 240 bhp version of Audi's turbocharged direct injection 2.0 liter engine, which produces masses of torque – 229 lb ft (310 Nm) at 2,2000-4,000 rpm, and later on a 300 bhp version will be available. This is coupled to the Audi six-speed manual transaxle.
To match the lever-type wishbone front suspension is a conventional double wishbone system at the rear, although the links are mounted higher than normal to keep them out of the airstream.
Brembo disc brakes which are 12 in (305 mm) diameter at the front, and 10.3 in (262 mm) at the rear, are fitted. Unusually for a car of this type, the front wheels are of larger diameter at the front than the rear; 17-inch at the front, with 205/40 section tires, and 235/40-18s at the rear.
The KTM X-Bow is a hot performing super sports car with just an aero-screen, rather than a windscreen, and no luggage space. KTM has provided space for a pair of crash helmets only, and you will need them.
A true lightweight sports car
Thanks to the carbon fiber body and no-frills spec, the X-Bow is light at 1,589 lb (721 kg). How does that compare? Surprisingly, it is 115 lb (52 kg) heavier than the Lotus 2-11, a direct competitor, and 325 lb (147 kg) heavier than the Caterham CSR. Even so, the KTM X-Bow joins the group of very light sports cars, in contrast with the excess weight of most cars these days.
The KTM X-Bow is a remarkable car in every way – it looks very different, it has remarkable performance, and it is great to see one more out-and-out sports car on the market.
In several European countries, including Germany and the UK, the X-Box can be registered for road use, but elsewhere it is usable only on tracks.
