Rated X: KTM unveils X-Bow sketches
The Jalop has the pretty pictures showing off KTM's Geneva-bound, Audi-powered sports car, the X-Bow. The cycle maker's nasty little creation takes all the goodness of the Lotus 340R, Ariel Atom, and various light-and-quick Caterhams, and packs it into an interesting-looking racy body with space for two.
It should be light (1,500 lbs or less), quick as all get-out, and impossibly fun. Pricing is said to be in the neighborhood of €40,000 ( around $52K). No word on whether or not those nifty scif-fi-style helmets are included in the package.
We anxiously await the Geneva Motor Show...
(More sketches after the jump)
[Source: KTM via Jalopnik]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Scott 5:01PM (12/12/2006)
A motorcycle company out-Lotusing Lotus. The motor and gearbox will be the interesting selections, as I don't think Audi has a high-strung motor like Toyota supplied for Lotus. The 2.0 FSI in a 1500lb car? That would be a road burner.
You wouldn't catch me riding with a half helmet in that thing however. This situation definitely calls for a full-face. Even then, a windscreen would be a nice addition. Other than that this thing looks like a blast.
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Nat 5:00PM (12/12/2006)
I'll take one of those and tell the everyone to clear out of Decker Canyon please.
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ruggels 5:06PM (12/12/2006)
looks like the DP1 might have some competition :)
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Jim 6:14PM (12/12/2006)
Looks awesome - sign me up!
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Turbofrog 8:07PM (12/12/2006)
With the 1.4L TSI engine that thing would be incredible. I love it really emphasizes the motorcycle cues in an automotive package without feeling derivative. Good stuff.
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vectorbug 9:03PM (12/12/2006)
So what are you paying for here? For the same price I could get a full sports car that can be driven in the wet. Why is the boxster and cayman pretty much the same price, but has more, original parts(Porsche engine, tranny etc)?
The beauty of caterham's is that they're cheap and you can build em yourself...if you're in the uk (although there are plenty of ways to get the british roadster/kit cars out here).
With a stripped down car, it should have a stripped down price.
I'd still rather have one of these, a caterham or an atom over a boxster though :D
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frij 10:01PM (12/12/2006)
Vectorbug, you don't get it.
Adding lightness costs money. Carbon fiber, composites, aluminum are all more expensive than normal car materials.
Any carmaker (like Porsche) can make an overweight porky luxo GT "sports" car.
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gkz 11:34PM (12/12/2006)
frij -
What's your point? A company like porsche could also build a stripped down car like the KTM that sucks in all real world driving situations.
Any idiot knows that this car and a porsche are two very different machines with very different purposes. try reading other people's posts before making stupid comments. vectorbug made reasonable points, which you might have noticed if you'd put some effort into reading comprehension.
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Scott Eaton 12:25AM (12/13/2006)
Do I get a super duke with it?
http://www.990superduke.com/
And guys, the styling sets this apart from a lot of cars and that in itself is a major selling point.
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JV 4:17AM (12/14/2006)
frij, the total cost of those materials would still not be that much greater IF they were mass produced and you built the car yourself I bet most of the high price in this case is coming from labor on their end on perhaps extra markup such a low volume car.
Even if carbon fiber and composite materials are too expensive for you, aluminum is still cheap and fiberglass provides a workable alternative to carbon fiber (perfectly fine for a non-weight bearing body, tube-chassis or body-on-frame design).
Just look a the custom AC cobra replica market, or other kit cars like the Ultima.
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kab 11:39AM (12/13/2006)
KTM, unless there is some new news out there that I am not aware of, also has a very trick looking, nicely spec'ed, and to this point, vaporware superbike project that has been floating around for years now.
I'll hold my breath.
As for the comments about driving this in the rain, no worries.. there will be a 'whaaaambulance' following you around, should things get inclement.
Frankly, anyone looking for a true race car-esque experiences skips everything else, and looks at cars just like this.
Complaining about the lack of amenities in this type of car is like complaining that your wrists hurt while riding a Ducati 999.... don't like it? There are plenty of other options for you.
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Stefan 4:05PM (12/13/2006)
weight: under 700 kg
length: 3,6 m
engine: 1984 cm³, 6-speed gearbox or DSG, 220hp, 300 NM (Audi 2.0 TFSI); Topversion 300hp
price: about 40.000 Euro
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Tim UF 2:00PM (2/03/2007)
CF is so expensive because there isnt really an easy way yet to mass produce it (in great enough quantities that would help production costs).
You have to cure the epoxies after the modling process, that requires either time or heat, or both. Metal stampings, you stamp, weld, and move on. tube frames are a lot more complex to weld. Also, Aluminum in general is a lot trickier to weld than steels, due to its lower melting and annealing temps. So, raw materials may be marginally more expensive, but processing it to produce a usable (ie. finished product) is where a lot of the cost comes from.
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