KTM X-Bow sportscar
KTM has taken the purists-only 2009 KTM X-BOW and split it into several dedicated models for drivers with different needs and interests. Perhaps the most noteworthy of the new X-BOW models is the homoglamated KTM X-Bow Street version, which will be tearing up backroads and public days on the Nurburgring in markets across Europe soon.
The X-BOW Street has matured somewhat from the earliest KTM 4-wheel trikes, with a 2.0 liter turbocharged Audi TFSI powerplant and every feature not necessary for communication between driver and road thrown to the wind in the name of austere simplicity and weight savings.
Weighing in at south of 1800 pounds, the 2009 KTM X-Bow Street is good for 3.9 seconds from 0-100 km/h despite carrying only 240 horsepower on its shoulders. Taking the Lotus-perfected idea of light weight with simply adequate power, KTM takes things to the extreme. The result is a pure-bred race car that needs to rev into the stratosphere to stay in its power band.
A top speed of 137 mph tells volumes about how tall the X-Bow Street is geared. The X-Bow Street will not be an easy car to push to its limits, to be sure, but even in the hands of an amateur the big, sticky rubber and stickier suspension should save from many a collision.
Press shots of the 2009 X-Bow show a wheel fully in the air in multiple instances, with the chassis staying rigid and the other three shoes firmly planted on the ground. Whether the X-Bow's lack of creature comforts like, say, a windshield will prevent drivers from lining up to get a 50,000 Euro performance bargain in the X-Bow Street remains to be seen.
Even if it doesn't enjoy huge sales numbers, the fact that the 2009 KTM X-Bow Street even exists as a road-legal car in the current automotive climate is a very, very good sign.
Source : RSportsCars
