KTM X-Bow Production Halted
There was a big push towards extremely focussed sports cars a few years back, beginning with the fervour created by Ariel’s Atom and continuing with the older (but less appreciated) cars from Radical. Then Austrian motorcycle maker extraordinaire KTM joined the fray with their own X-Bow. Exalted as a hardened track tool that would combine the focus and engineering excellence of one of the winningest motorcycle manufacturers out there with the handiwork of the firm’s Austrian labourers, the X-Bow was one of the most anticipated cars to debut in recent memory on the European continent.
But, after numerous tests and reviews, critics came away from the Transformer-like X-Bow shaking their heads in universal disappointment. Criticized for being too soft, not communicative enough, and lacking the overall sizzle of the Ariel and Radical products, the relatively affordable trackday superstar has apparently suffered on the sales floor. Expecting to produce just 500 a year, KTM upped that figure to 1,000 after seeing the pre-release excitement the car created. However, due to obvious and unavoidable issues with the creation and production of the brand’s first four wheeled contraption, the Graz factory has only made 500 to date. What’s worse? KTM has only sold 80 so far.
So, with 480 extra X-Bows taking of space, KTM has wisely chosen to halt production, at least for the time being. With hopes of a North American release of a street-legal model soon, KTM hopes to sell the remaining stock in short order, with plans to restart production in January of 2010.