Category: Roadsters 
Price Range: No data available
Amazing engineering for the money, lightning fast, forgiving handling.
Dull sounding engine, throttle response, zero weather protection.
A capable and welcome addition to the ranks of the ultra-focused road racers.
The lack of a fifth star in this category reflects both the superlative dynamic standards already on show in this class, as delivered by Caterham, Lotus and Ariel to name perhaps the three most impressive and also the clear disappointment in the way the X-Bow delivers its performance.
It is important not to misunderstand us here. We don't quibble with its acceleration - only someone in need of urgent medical assistance would find fault with a 0-62mph time of 3.9sec and a 0-100mph time of 8.5sec - but the manner in which it is delivered which, bluntly, is almost entirely without ceremony. The Audi engine sounds no more enthused with its lot in life under the engine cover of the KTM than it does in any one of the many conventional road cars in which it serves. It sings no song and instead of its note rising to a single howling crescendo as it might in many of its rivals, it just gets slightly noisier as the revs rise. Moreover while it can deliver a hammer blow to your shoulder blades in the lower gears, there is still a discernible pause between your right foot making the request and the X-Bow duly delivering. In truth the lag is much better than in many turbocharged petrol cars but compared to something with a supercharger or merely a highly tuned normally aspirated engine, this tardy response is a small but significant failing.
So it is just as well that, in almost all other areas, the X-Bow barely makes a mistake. Because KTM only had unregistered pre-production prototypes at its launch, we were able to drive the X-Bow only on the racetrack but even in the most extreme of environment and despite using only road car suspension, brakes and tyres, it felt in its element. KTM sees the X-Bow very much as a road legal track car rather than a road car you might occasionally feel inclined to prod around a circuit and you don't need much more than a lap to know why: with the engine behind the driver and an all-up weight of just 790kg, it changes direction like a ricocheting bullet. There's no power assistance at the helm, nor does it need it for it is light to the touch and executes your instructions with almost mathematical precision.
Even so, it is to be remembered that this is a track day car which is an entirely distinct animal to a racing car. Drive it like you're trying to qualify for the British Grand Prix and you'll find it a little soft in very quick turns and a touch too keen to understeer in slower corners - but these are traits you can dial out yourself by opting for any number of performance upgrades from adjustable dampers to stiffer springs or fitting an limited slip differential or adjustable anti-roll bars. But for most people who want simply to enjoy themselves without breaking the lap record, it is perfectly set up from the gearing of its steering to the power of its entirely fade-free braking system.
