A few months ago, rumors swirled that the beleaguered KTM was cancelling its supercar X-Bow. The lightweight, open-cockpit supercar was akin to Ariel’s Atom in shape, design, ethos, and was born from a motorcycle company, but the X-Bow just never caught on like the Atom. Sales suffered, and the writing seemed to be on the proverbial wall, as KTM’s financial situation and reorganization under Bajaj’s leadership meant a culling of the brand’s side projects was fully in force.
But then, at the 11th hour, the X-Bow nameplate was saved by a group of owners and investors, stating they’d be restarting production of the vehicles, as well as parts and sales service, too. Then things went silent as the company, seemingly, went into the process of transferring ownership and getting things running.
All that, however, has now changed, as the group behind the X-Bow has just reemerged with a wild-ass new project. One that, honestly, I don’t think anyone saw coming, as not only does it have a new model, it’s one that X-Bow has never done before. Yes, instead of a new X-Bow supercar, the company, along with the G Rally Team, has built a Dakar-ready side-by-side that’s X-Bow-powered.
And I have just one thing to say: Hell to the freakin’ yeah.
Photo by: KTM
The basis of the vehicle in question is G Rally Team’s G-Ecko rally raid platform, which, for those who aren’t up on their go-fast off-road racers, is basically the bastard love child of a trophy truck and a side-by-side, as they’re smaller than the former, and bigger than the latter, but have aspects of both.
According to the press release, “Starting with the 2026 Dakar Rally, the Belgian team will launch the « KTM X-Bow powered by G Rally Team » project. While the announcement of a partnership between the two names shook the world of rally-raid a few weeks ago, this is KTM X-Bow’s first concrete off-road project. The Austrian brand is investing in rally-raid, using the existing G Rally Team platform with the G-ECKO vehicle to develop an ambitious global project. Two crews will represent the beginning of this magnificent story.”
Photo by: KTM
Now, that pentultimate sentence is an interesting one, as it might give away what the X-Bow’s future might hold. “Ambitious global project” could mean one of two things. It could mean the new owners want to develop their own X-Bow off-road racing lineup to go along with the X-Bow supercar racers they’re already selling to customers and would-be racers, as the world of off-road racing has exploded in recent years. Or, and this one has me crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes, it could mean that in addition to a X-Bow off-road racer, they might be cooking up a production version that you or I could buy and take off-roading, ala the consumer-model X-Bow that’s street legal.
The release goes on to state, “With the Austrian brand’s growing involvement in the future, this line-up of two G-ECKO vehicles (built by the G Rally Team) represents the first phase of a long-term project,” adding, “The crews will compete in the entire World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) in 2026.”
Please, X-Bow, make me a X-Bow side-by-side I can play with at home.
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