KTM Is Making A Comeback With A Road-Legal Supercar
America has never suffered from a shortage of fast cars, but some of Europe’s strangest machines have remained frustratingly out of reach. One of the most outrageous examples looks like it escaped from a racetrack, swallowed an Audi engine and developed an unhealthy obsession with carbon fiber. After nearly two decades of teasing American enthusiasts from across the Atlantic, this four-wheeled lunatic is finally preparing to cross the ocean. The catch is that its transformation from forbidden fruit to road-legal supercar comes with an absolutely savage price.
The KTM X-Bow GT-XA Is Coming To America
KTM X-BOW Onroad GmbH has announced the GT-XA, a new America-specific version of its enclosed GT-XR supercar. It will become the first road-going KTM X-Bow officially offered in the United States, provided the company receives the necessary federal approval.
That last part is important. KTM intends to launch the GT-XA in 2027, but the car must still clear American regulatory hurdles before owners can legally terrify the morning traffic with it.
The GT-XA will be sold through several US retailers in partnership with Carbon Yard. Only 30 examples are planned for the first year, making it considerably rarer than most Ferraris, Lamborghinis or McLarens prowling around wealthy ZIP codes.
KTM is accepting $50,000 reservations, although the deposit is refundable only until the car receives final federal approval. The expected starting price will remain below $490,000, which is a polite way of saying it could cost approximately half a million dollars.
That is an enormous amount of cash for something wearing the same badge as a dirt bike. Then again, calling the GT-XA merely a KTM with four wheels is like calling a cruise missile an unusually enthusiastic firework.
An Audi Five-Cylinder Sits Behind The Driver
The GT-XA is based on the European-market X-Bow GT-XR and will retain its turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine sourced from Audi. In European specification, the engine produces 493 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque.
KTM has not confirmed the final output for the American version, but it should produce close to the same numbers. Power reaches the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, while the engine sits behind the passenger compartment for a proper mid-engine layout.
Its carbon-fiber monocoque and lightweight body should make those numbers feel considerably more violent than they would in a conventional sports car. The GT-XR weighs roughly 2,755 pounds in European form, giving it the power-to-weight ratio of something that probably should come with a parachute.
The canopy-style cockpit only adds to the drama. Instead of opening a normal door like a normal human, occupants climb beneath a huge forward-hinged canopy that makes every gas-station visit look like an emergency landing.
This is not a delicate grand tourer designed to silently transport its owner between luxury hotels. It is a carbon-bodied road missile with an Audi five-cylinder barking directly behind your head.
The X-Bow Family Is Getting Even More Ridiculous
The American GT-XA is only one part of KTM’s expanded X-Bow lineup. The regular GT-XR is also receiving conventional side mirrors, a standard Capristo exhaust and a new 7-inch multimedia display.
For anyone who thinks the enclosed GT-XR feels far too sensible, KTM is preparing the GT-XR Spyder. It brings back some of the original X-Bow’s open-air madness with removable roof panels and a detachable gurney designed to reduce wind turbulence inside the cabin.
Then there is the GT-XR Evo, which receives the wonderfully unsubtle Factory 600 package. As the name suggests, it raises output to 600 hp. A full carbon-fiber aerodynamic package adds louvered wheel arches, a larger splitter and dive planes to generate additional downforce.
America is currently only confirmed to receive the GT-XA, but that hardly feels like a consolation prize. The original roofless X-Bow arrived for the 2009 model year and spent years looking like the world’s angriest go-kart. Its enclosed successor has evolved into a legitimate supercar that appears ready to bite chunks out of machines wearing much more prestigious badges.
Federal approval still stands between the GT-XA and American roads. If KTM clears that final hurdle, the X-Bow will no longer be a European fantasy admired through computer screens. It will be a road-legal, five-cylinder carbon missile lurking at American stoplights.
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