Introducing the KTM X-Bow GT4

KTM X-Bow GT4 and Reiter Engineering Team with Catherine Felser

First race this April

By Zack Newmark
March 17, 2008 1:45 PM
Filed Under: European, KTM, Motorsport

Still popular one year after the curtain opened on the 237 horsepower KTM X-Bow, KTM has developed a GT4 version of their street-legal racer. Reiter Engineering has partnered up with KTM to enter two X-Bow cars in this year's FIA GT4 European Cup.

Reiter, which runs Lamborghini teams in the GT1, GT2, and GT3, has entered the X-Bow in the Sport Lights class. Instead of running their motorsports team themselves, KTM will work with Reiter to develop vehicles for the automaker's customer base. By putting the car into racing conditions significantly more brutal than daily driving, KTM hopes to make continued improvements on their vehicle.

In addition to tuning the chassis for race conditions, the KTM X-Bow GT4 is fitted with more safety equipment to satisfy FIA requirements. These include steel rollover bars, zylon fibre layers to prevent the driver from being impaled by a sharp object, and extended wheel covers. KTM calls these enhancements "minor", pointing out that the KTM X-Bow is nearly race-ready as a stock car.

A personal favorite debut from last year the X-Bow seems a bit more stable and secure than the Ariel Atom. Even though it is a little heavier, slower, and more expensive than the Ariel Atom, there is just something flat out appealing about the X-Bow. Maybe because it looks a little more road-worthy than its British competitor. Or maybe its the X-Bow's 2.0 liter turbocharged inline-four engine from Audi that pushes the car from 0-100 kph in 3.9 seconds.

The public seems to agree. Last September, about six months after its introduction, the KTM X-Bow will be manufactured in a plant dedicated to the car. KTM had originally planned to build no more than 500 units per year, but demand necessitated a unique facility capable of producing 1,000 X-Bows per year.

Production of the showroom floor edition of the KTM X-Bow begins this summer. The KTM X-Bow GT4 will race for the first time at Silverstone on April 20.

Source: KTM

Press Release (Click to expand)

KTM X-BOW TO DEBUT IN 2008 SPORTS LIGHT SERIES WITHIN THE FIA GT4 CHAMPIONSHIP

    * Reiter Engineering enter two KTM X-Bow cars in the 2008 GT4 European Cup
    * Opening race at Silverstone on 20 April will mark the new car’s competition debut
    * GT4 entry will ‘drive’ development of production- and future racing-versions of X-Bow
    * Series production of KTM X-Bow road-legal sports car begins Summer 2008

KTM Sportcar GmbH is pleased to announce the entry of two of its stunning X-Bow track cars in this year’s FIA GT4 European Cup. Competing in the newly-created ‘Sport Lights’ class, the cars will be prepared and raced by German-based motor racing specialists Reiter Engineering, which has operated successful Lamborghini racing teams in the FIA GT1, GT2 and GT3.

The decision by KTM to place the racing premiere of X-Bow in the hands of Reiter, rather than enter the championship under a factory-run operation, was taken to allow KTM to use the GT4 entry as a pilot project to ‘drive’ development of future customer motor sport applications as well as the production model.

The entry of the KTM sports cars into the championship, prior to the start of series production of the X-Bow car this Summer, will mark the competition debut of X-Bow, and is focused primarily on the ‘acid test’ development of the car under gruelling race conditions.

This strategy will ensure that KTM X-Bow stays true to the brand’s ‘Ready to Race’ philosophy, and this is further underlined by the brand’s decision to draw upon the vast expertise of world-renowned racing driver Loris Bicocchi in the development of the X-Bow.

Italian Loris Bicocchi, who will be one of two drivers competing in the Reiter team, has been heavily involved in the development of the KTM X-Bow from the outset as test driver and played an important role in the chassis tuning of the vehicle. Biccochi’s former motor sport experience has included the testing, development and racing of many of the world’s most prestigious supercars – including the Koenigsegg CCR.

Bicocchi will be joined by German driver Catharina Felser whose racing experience includes Formula Ford and Formula 3 series. Both drivers’ participation in the forthcoming GT4 test sessions and race weekends will provide further valuable development data for KTM.

Pilot Project for developing future X-Bow variants
Together with development partner Dallara, Reiter Engineering and KTM have prepared the X-Bow for participation in the new GT4 Sports Light Series in record time.

The changes made to the GT4 racing X-Bow (compared with the series production model) are predominantly related to additional safety equipment demanded by the FIA regulations. In the racing KTM X-Bow for example, the rollover bars are made of steel instead of aluminium; additional layers of zylon fibre are fastened to the flanks of the monocoque to prevent the penetration of sharp objects; the exhaust system has a racing silencer; the wheel covers are extended; there is added protection between the front and rear wheels; and the chassis is tuned to the specific requirements of racing.

These modifications are so minor that they highlight the fundamentally sporting design of the KTM X-Bow, confirming that even the road car has the soul of a racing car. Its unique carbon fibre monocoque, double-wishbone suspension system and sophisticated pushrod damping system on the front axle, are all design features inspired by the highest classes of motor sports. Even in the series production version, the aerodynamics achieve top marks for downforce, while the car’s low centre of gravity and chassis design permit lateral acceleration values (G forces) which go far beyond the usual limits achieved by road-legal homologated cars. The KTM X-Bow doesn’t just look fast – it is fast, and is now setting out to prove it.

For KTM, this first and very early race participation of the X-Bow is perfectly logical for a number of reasons. It will provide important feedback in the final phase of the series production car development. It will serve as a trial run for future customer motor sport projects and it will advance the development of the racing sport version of the X-Bow that KTM will be offering as an independent model from the end of 2008.

Apart from all these pragmatic goals, the company is also very enthusiastic about the anticipated performance of its first sports car in the GT4 Sports Light Series. KTM is eagerly looking forward to the premiere of the X-Bow on the motor sports scene – to enjoying exciting races, to taking on a top-calibre field of starters and to writing a new chapter in the history of the brand.