330-hp rally raider is set to invade America’s backwoods

A wild, uncompromising 330-hp Audi-powered rally-raid machine has burst forth from the foothills of Austria’s Alps - and it’s heading right for America’s backwoods. The KTM X-Bow Arrow, a pricey side-by-side buggy is setting out to kick dirt in the faces of traditional American UTVs on their own home turf.

The eccentric KTM company has spent nearly a century almost evangelically building raw, hyper-aggressive speed bikes with distinct off-road pedigree. There was a mad blip with the launch of a track car 20 years ago but this enclosed, track-bred monster has caught everyone off guard. It looks set to plunge headfirst into the mud and mountain passes of rural America.

The background is that KTM’s track-only supercars branch - which was sold off separately when the Austrian motorcycle manufacturer hit financial troubles recently - has expanded its reach to the world of what many call 'side-by-sides.'

The Arrow could be the most powerful factory side-by-side or UTV ever put on sale in the US. How will this turbocharged dune buggy do against North America’s established UTVs from Can-Am and Polaris?

Well for starters the newcomer comes with an ultra-tough tubular chromoly-steel chassis. Belgian rally icon Guillaume de Mévius spearheaded the vehicle's development with KTM X-Bow engineers. The influence of Guillaume’s elite off-road endurance racers shows in the Arrow’s immense skeletal strength.

Suspended from those sturdy metallic bones is a set of double-wishbone suspension arms coupled with motorsport-grade KW Reiger dampers. The result is a staggering 24 inches of pure suspension travel to tackle exposed limestone and gnarled roots of severe backcountry trails.

Nestled behind the enclosed cockpit is a mid-mounted 2.0-liter turbocharged Volkswagen Group 'EA888' four-cylinder engine, sourced from Audi where it is badged as the TFSI and powers machines like the TTS sports coupe. Standard Arrows get this in a 280-hp form. In X-Bow's flagship 'Black Limited Edition' it’s tuned to deliver 330 hp. The Black model comes in a limited run of 500 numbered units worldwide.

That hefty dose of power goes to all four wheels through the VW Group’s fast seven-speed dual-clutch DSG automatic transmission. The Arrow counters loose shale and muddy ruts with specialized front and rear limited-slip differentials.

That amount of power and traction in such a small light machine calls for special tires… hence the 35-inch Maxxis RAZR XT securely beadlocked rubber.

Perhaps the craziest part of the X-Bow Arrow, however, is the strange cockpit. It looks like a lunar rover sent to an alien planet but inside, the brand has achieved a level of refinement unusual in the off-road vehicle market.

You slip past the reinforced frame into premium Sabelt racing seats, strapping yourself into high-grade harnesses. Ahead is a crisp digital instrument display, with a central touchscreen feeding smartphone telemetry. There’s even factory-installed air conditioning, hardly a UTV staple but a massive plus when you're kicking up clouds of choking red clay in the heat of a Southern US summer.

Alongside the modern digital tech is an old-school analog hydraulic fly-off handbrake as a nod to the vehicle’s rally-raid pedigree. It practically begs the driver to flick the tail out around tight, blind, gravel switchbacks.

The Arrow’s ancestor is the radical X-Bow Roadster, a crazily exposed track performance car. It famously discarded windshields and doors in pursuit of pure, unfiltered performance. Over the years, that initial lightweight concept matured, adding practical refinements like a full glass canopy, as explored in the X-Bow GT. In comparison the Arrow tears up the tarmac playbook and moves away from smooth carbon-fiber tubs to use a massive, rugged steel framework to catch some serious air over tree roots, rocks, and mud.

Order books are opening across the United States. Prices start at US$59,800 and stretch to $98,600 for the Black Edition. So it costs more than all rivals, even a top-spec Polaris RZR Pro R Ultimate ($47,999). Yes, the X-Bow machine is wildly expensive for an off-road toy… but it is a wildly capable piece of engineering that seems built to conquer America’s wildest corners.

Source: KTM X-Bow