Though we lately reported the KTM X-Bow was virtually definitely useless, it might have a brand new lease on life. Bajaj, which purchased out KTM, needs the model to concentrate on bikes, so it is bought KTM Sportcar GmbH to a separate group of traders, hopefully saving the X-Bow sports activities automobile. KTM will proceed to license its identify and be concerned with the X-Bow not directly, however KTM Sportcar GmbH will run independently of the principle firm. The X-Bow was all the time an odd duck in KTM’s lineup, so this makes an excessive amount of sense.
KTM confirmed to Austria’s Industrie Magazin that the De Mevius household, higher recognized for the beer mega-conglomerate AB InBev, is heading up negotiations, together with different nameless traders. “AB” stands for Anheuser-Busch, which is only one of greater than 500 manufacturers the corporate owns that make it the most important brewer on the planet. This may increasingly seem to be an unlikely pairing, however the De Mevius household is actively concerned in motorsports. Gregoire De Mevius is a long-time rally and Dakar competitor who nonetheless enters the occasional rally at this time. His sons, Guillaume and Ghislain, proceed racing in his dusty footsteps.
A brand new lineup
Whereas the X-Bow has developed over time, it is troublesome for a automobile firm to outlive with just one mannequin within the lineup (simply ask Saturn). The brand new house owners plan to handle that by including new fashions, or at the least variants, to offer consumers a bit extra choice. It will embody not solely the present track-focused fashions, but in addition street-legal supersports, which appears a pure enlargement. Automobiles just like the Radical SR3 have already gone there. Whereas not an awesome grocery getter, you could possibly at the least drive it to the observe, the place you could possibly get pleasure from its full capabilities with out going on to jail afterward.
The brand new possession additionally intends to increase the X-Bow vary in a much less intuitive route with off-road choices. This may increasingly appear bizarre for a observe automobile, however given the De Mevius household’s rally and Dakar historical past, I would not be stunned if that is the place they are going with this. Think about X-Bow given the Rally Fighter remedy, attacking rally phases or leaping desert dunes. Maybe completely different variations could be accessible for every self-discipline, much like KTM’s completely different bike choices for motocross, enduro, and cross nation based mostly on the identical platforms. We’re simply speculating, as no particulars are but accessible, however it will be nice to see KTM tackling the phases on 4 wheels in addition to two. Regardless, evidently, like the person on the cart in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the X-Bow is not fairly useless but.
h/t RideApart
