New Cars: First pictures of KTM X-Bow

When I first saw illustrations of what the X-Bow was going to look like I thought to myself: "there is no way they can make it look this outrageous in the flesh". Well, they managed, and then some! I still don't know why they had to shape the outer edges of the front "bumper" like on a family hatch, but hey, when the rest looks this good, I'm not complaining.

For those of you who did not catch this story until now, the KTM X-Bow (pronounced "crossbow"), is the first foray into four-wheeled cars by the largest manufacturer of dirt bikes in Europe. It runs Audi's 2-liter blown four, here rated at 220 hp, and puts the power down to the rear wheels using either a 6-speed manual or the dual-clutch S-tronic (nee DSG). It's tub is made entirely from carbonfiber (!), just like that of an F1 car, giving the X-Bow immense rigidity and, at 700 kg, low weight. Oh, and it was co-developed with Dallara, the manufacturer of race cars for the Champ Cars, World Series by Renault and GP2 series. Yours in Europe for 27,000 pounds.

[source: CAR]