World Cars Motor Show

Last year, KTM showed us its open-wheel, windshield-free X-Bow in concept form. This year the first production-ready version makes its debut at the 2008 Geneva auto show.

Commemorating the start of X-Bow production, which will happen in a new plant in Graz, Austria, is a run of 100 so-called X-Bow ???Dallara??? editions, differing from the concept we saw in 2007 by way of its carbon-fiber body panels, limited-slip differential, removable steering wheel, and specially tweaked chassis by??”you guessed it??”Dallara, an Italian race-car chassis maker.

It??™s interesting that a special edition emerges even before the car commences production. But never mind that??”the X-Bow Dallara looks really cool and is sure to be a future collectible.

No word yet on how much power the X-Bow will have (early estimates put its VW-sourced turbo four-pot at 220 horsepower, rising to 300 over time) or if any of the 100 Dallaras will make it stateside, gray market or otherwise.

But we do know this: If there??™s one street-legal, credible alternative to the Ariel Atom anywhere in the world, it??™s this car. And we can??™t wait to drive it.

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Here??™s a riddle: What has four wheels and also flies (flies, as in goes really really fast on the road)? Answer: the 2008 KTM X-Bow. Making its official debut at the Geneva auto show, the X-Bow is the first traditional automobile produced by Austrian motorcycle-maker KTM.

Actually, ???traditional??? may not be the right word to describe the X-Bow, which is a near-clone of the radical and ??ber-cool GX3 trike that VW teased us with at last year??™s L.A. show. The big difference, of course, is that the X-Bow has four wheels instead of the GX3??™s mere three. That makes the X-Bow a bit less odd-looking than the stillborn GX3, yet it gives up exactly none of the holy-crap factor that made the GX3 a showstopper.

The VW connection doesn??™t end there. The 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with direct injection comes courtesy of VW/Audi. Transversely mounted just inches behind the passengers, the mill produces 220 horsepower in base spec, with up to 300 in the future, according to KTM. Sending that power to the fat rear wheels are two transmissions, also from VW: a conventional six-speed manual or a twin-clutch sequential manual (DSG). A limited-slip rear differential will be available for customers with racing inclinations. With a curb weight of just 1550 pounds, the X-Bow should be able to hit 60 mph in less than four seconds flat with the base engine. With 300 horses, that number could creep into the mid-threes.

Its Kiska-designed styling can best be described as industrio-gothic, sort of Batmobile meets snowmobile. Much of the carbon-fiber monocoque (it weighs only 150 pounds) has been left exposed, and the only painted surfaces are a quartet of fenderish body panels, all of which will be painted orange on the first batch of 100 when they??™re assembled for KTM by race-car builder Dallara in late 2007. Roof? Nope. Windows? Doors? No need. Climate control? Better check the weather. KTM hasn??™t had to worry about those things on its motorcycles, and it??™s not about to start now.

Something KTM has been concerned with in the past, however, is helmet usage with its products, and indeed it does recommend donning such a cap to protect your head and face when driving the windshieldless X-Bow, even though it??™s not required by law. Matching helmets??”of course!??”will be available, complete with specially created storage spaces. KTM will also offer overalls prewired with integrated information/communications/entertainment devices to go with the helmets.

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