The KTM X-Bow Is Finally Coming To American Roads

The KTM X-Bow has been around since 2008, but there has never been a road-legal production version available in the United States — until now. KTM X-Bow  has just announced the X-Bow GT-XA, a U.S. road version of its nimble sports car. The spun-off Austrian manufacturer plans to build 30 cars for the model's first year of production, but there is just one hiccup. The GT-XA has yet to be approved for U.S. road use.

KTM X-Bow stated that its exclusive U.S. partner, Carbon Yard, is working to secure U.S. road legalization for the GT-XA. Regardless of how long that takes, the factory in Graz, Austria, will be assembling sports cars with a delivery target of 2027 in mind. Prospective buyers can place reservations for $50,000, which will remain fully refundable until the GT-XA becomes road legal. KTM X-Bow has yet to announce technical specifications or a final MSRP for the U.S.-spec two-seater, but is anticipating a $490,000 price tag.

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Love it or leave it

The X-Bow was forever changed when it went racing in 2015. KTM produced a factory racing version for GT4 competition , which necessitated a closed cockpit to fit the regulations. Engineers fitted a canopy over the cockpit because the existing monocoque made doors impractical. The canopy would make its street-legal X-Bow debut in 2022 with the GT-XR, the likely basis for the upcoming GT-XA. According to X-Bow, the U.S.-spec version will feature a front-axle lift system to make it easier to pull into driveways.

The canopy undoubtedly expanded the X-Bow's customer base, but it strayed from the car's initial ethos. The 2,760-pound GT-XR is over 1,000 pounds heavier than the original open-cockpit model. It might not be a true fighter jet canopy, as KTM X-Bow advertises, but I wouldn't want to be inside a canopied X-Bow if it flipped on a public road. I'm not sure I could squeeze my way out of one of those tiny windows. At a race track, at least the marshals are there to respond and help you escape if you end up trapped in an overturned X-Bow.

I don't want to sound too critical of creature comforts, but the original X-Bow was a breath of fresh air for the realm of enthusiast sports cars from a very unusual source. An Austrian motorcycle manufacturer produced a lightweight, open-cockpit sports car constructed around a carbon fiber monocoque. The partnership with dominant single-seat builder Dallara led many to think of the X-Bow as a street-legal, formula-style race car, but its raw agility could easily be described as a four-wheeled motorcycle. The GT-XR just isn't that. I guess I should also mention that, after KTM's massive restructuring , the X-Bow was spun off into a separate company with different owners than the bike maker.

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