Austrian firm KTM is best known for its wide range of two wheel machines usually of the off-road variety. In 2007 the manufacturer turned its expertise to four-wheels, and the result was the radical X-Bow (pr: cross bow) sportscar. X-Bow was met with international acclaim and to date over 500 cars have been sold worldwide by this small scale producer. And good news for SA fans is that the X-Bow is heading to SA in a few weeks time. Prospective buyers will be able to choose between the Street and Clubsport variants and can expect to pay in the region of R1m.
X-bow is a lightweight driving machine in the same vein as the Ariel Atom and Lotus 7. It is a no-nonsense, bare-bones, stripped down model that has no “wimpy” components such as doors or a roof for that matter. The basis for this package is an extremely stiff and lightweight carbon-fibre monocoque, which weighs in at just 90 kg, or about the same as your average South African oke. Total mass of the car is approximately 800 kg; about half that of a BMW M3
Power comes from an Audi-sourced 2,0 turbocharged engine that develops 177 kW, which gives it a power to mass ratio of over 220 kW/ton. Maximum torque is rated at 310 N.m produced in a plateau from 2 000 to 5 000 r/min. Drive is delivered to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox that features a limited slip differential. The benchmark zero-to-100 km/h time of 3,9 seconds places it in the company of some really quick cars. Top speed is an academic 220 km/h Courtesy of that low mass the combined cycle fuel consumption is quoted as 7,2 litres/100 km.
Despite its alien looks X-Bow is a fully fledged, right-hand drive, road-going car that will be equally at home on a racetrack or the nearest mountain pass. In racecar-like fashion X-Bow generatest 50 kg of downforce at 100 km/h and almost 200 kg at 200 km/h. These impressive figures are achieved by utilising a completely flat underbody, a front splitter and diffuser attached to the rear subframe. The fully independent is suspension set-up – double-wishbones are employed at each corner – is adjustable to enable X-Bow owners to tweak their cars to chase down exotica on track days.
