KTM X-Bow

[Wizzo]

Following on from its recent appearance at Bologna, KTM will show its high-performance X-Bow sportscar at the Autosport International Racing Car Show this month where UK audiences (and some lucky GPWizard members) will see the car without the company's trademark orange finish for the first time.

The "gleaming white" bodywork of the showcar is a new option for the lightweight, carbon fiber two-seater which is slated to enter production in the first half of this year. The motorcycle manufacturer has also confirmed that it will mark its move into the four-wheeled market with a limited run of 100 sequentially numbered "Dallara Series" models (all of which are sold) featuring premium equipment designed to bolster the track performance potential of the vehicle followed by production runs of 1000 units per-year at the company's new assembly plant in Austria.

Weighing just 700kg and achieving 177 kW (240 hp) at 6000 rpm and 300 Nm of torque between 2200 and 4000 rpm via an inline four-cylinder turbocharged Audi engine, the the X-Bow is expected to clock 100 kph in just 3.9 seconds according to the latest preliminary performance specs and with no roof or doors and a 70-millimeter, transparent wind deflector instead of a windscreen or windscreen, the sports car promises some serious exhilaration for those lucky enough to find themselves behind the wheel.

The KTM X-Bow will be road-legal throughout much of the European Union (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Spain, with the list set to expand in 2008) but will be limited to race track use elsewhere for the time being.

The Autosport Show at Birmingham’s NEC from 10-13 January is the fourth major show outing for the X-Bow following its world premiere at the Geneva International Motor Show last year and appearances at the 2007 Middle East International Motor Show in Dubai and Bologna Motor Show, in Italy. The sporstcar is also expected to surface at the European Motor Show in Brussels (Belgium) running from 16 - 27 January.

See the dedicated KTM X-Bow website for more details.