Dutch firm's second road car uses a tuned version of the Audi RS3's turbo five-cylinder engine
Dutch sports car and motorbike manufacturer KTM is developing a road-legal version of its X-Bow GT2 race car, which will rival low-volume lightweights including the Radical Rapture and Dallara Stradale.
It will be KTM’s second road car, joining its open-roof X-Bow sibling, which has been sold in various forms since 2008.
It wears a completely bespoke body shell and is substantially different in its positioning to the X-Bow, touting power and performance specifications that line it up as a viable rival to established supercars.
Power comes from a rear-mounted 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder engine, as used by the Audi RS3 hot hatch, though the GT2 racer boosts output to 600bhp and 531lb ft compared to the X-Bow R’s 296bhp and 295lb ft.
KTM has yet to confirm whether the road-going engine will be tuned to the same specification of the race unit.
Drive is channeled to the rear axle through a seven-speed sequential gearbox and a limited-slip differential.
Fundamentally, the GT2 is based around the same Dallara-designed, 80kg carbonfibre monocoque as the X-Bow, which KTM says “has been tried and tested in a dozen crashes since 2008”. For the hardtop car it is paired with an FIA-approved steel rollcage.
A ‘jetfighter’ canopy lid – made of carbonfibre – provides access to the cabin, but small glass windows at the side can also be fully opened.
All up, KTM says the X-Bow GT2 racer tips the scales at 1048kg dry. Added equipment necessary for the road car’s homologation will no doubt push that figure up slightly, but engineers will work together with KTM’s race team to “focus on lightweight construction” throughout the development process.
KTM will release further details closer to the X-Bow GT2’s launch.
Keyword: KTM to launch X-Bow GT2 as 600bhp road-legal supercar