KTM’s racecar-derived X-BOW GT-XR has the world’s most powerful production road-car five-cylinder engine.
Austrian car and bike maker KTM has launched a road-legal version of its title-winning X-Bow GT2 race car, complete with a super-lightweight 80kg chassis and 368kW powerplant.
Called the X-Bow GT-XR, this low-volume lightweight will rival the likes of the Dallara Stradale and Radical Rapture. It is KTM’s second road-legal car after the open-top KTM X-Bow, which has been sold in various forms since 2008.
The GT-XR shares much of its underpinnings with the GT2 race car and, fundamentally, it is based around the same Dallara-designed 80kg carbonfibre monocoque as the original X-Bow, which, KTM says, “has been tried and tested in a dozen crashes since 2008”. For the hard-top car, it’s paired with an FIA-approved steel roll cage, which leaves kerb weight at 1130kg.
A jet fighter-style canopy lid made of carbonfibre provides access to the cabin. Small glass windows at the side can also be fully opened. Inside, the same removable racing-style steering wheel as the GT2 is fitted.
The GT-XR also shares the racing car’s 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine, albeit detuned from the GT2 racer’s 447kW and 720Nm. It is no slouch, though, with the rear-mounted turbocharged powerplant – also used by the Audi RS3 – putting out 367kW and 582Nm and revving to 7000rpm.
A lot of that torque can be used at low revs, KTM says, pushing the car 0-100km/h in 3.4sec, and from 100km/h-200km/h in 6.9sec. Speed maxes out at 280km/h.
Drive is channelled to the rear axle through a seven-speed sequential gearbox and a limited-slip differential.
Designers have focused heavily on aerodynamics, bringing much of the GT2’s styling to the road-going car. This design also incorporates KTM’s new AirCurtain system, which, it says, is “a world first in a road-legal car”. It has been developed to create an aerodynamic ground effect that helps the car stick to the road.
Prices for the X-Bow GT-XR start at €284,900 (around AUD$422,000). The company told Automotive Daily that it remains committed to a 100-car maximum output per year, which includes the X-Bow’s R, RR, GT4, GT, GTX and GT2 variants – as well as the GT-XR.
Will Rimell