New car news

Stig drives the KTM X-Bow

24 July 2009 - 10:00

X-Bow gets crosser

We feel your pain. Your KTM X-Bow, with its 240bhp and 0-60mph time of 3.9 seconds, is far too slow. You keep getting embarrassed at traffic light drag races by, er, Murcielagos. And Ferrari 599s.

Fear not. Help is at hand. KTM has announced an upgrade to its skeletal carbon-fibre car, boosting power of the 2.0-litre Audi-sourced turbo engine by a full 60bhp to a nice round 300bhp. Torque is up from 228lb ft to 295lb ft.

All of which means a power-to-weight ratio of 380bhp per tonne, and a 0-60mph time of 3.5 seconds.

We've already had a good drive in the uprated X-Bow (check out the September issue of Top Gear magazine, out on August 12), and we can report it's all good: far more muscular and torquey than the 240bhp - which, let's be honest, was hardly slow.

In short, it's now a hugely, hugely fast thing, with the sort of acceleration that threatens to drag your face right the way up over the top of your head, never to return.

KTM will retro-fit the upgrade to any existing X-Bow for just over £5,000. If you've got a X-Bow, you don't really have a choice, do you?

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Good stuff. Can you hear the engine with these mods though so you can shift gear by listening to the revs? Or do you need a hosepipe going from the engine into your helmet?

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i saw a x bow in surrey

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Ugly as sin from the side (both Stig and the X-Bow).

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Its lovely, you've got no taste..

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Some say... that Stig cannot show his face to us because all the ladies in the world would have their eyes melted...

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Come on guys, get this car on the track. Now they've released an upgraded version and you still havent sent the original round the track or even given it a road test and its been out for a while now. I reckon it would beat the Atom. Please andy, for next season, get this car on the TGTT

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This is great, always loved the X-Box and now I love it even more! You have got to be crazy if you think it's ugly, honestly!

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Great, now it can compete with the Atom 300. Go X-Bow!

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Wow! Thats coool ! :D . Now get the car on the track !

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it looks great can't wait until it's on the track

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It looks amazing but there is one bad thing you could get hit easily in the face

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just look at it and you know that it will be fast

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