New KTM X-Bow GT2 is road-ready, 600bhp track weapon

KTM is developing a road-legal version of its X-Bow GT2, which will rival low-volume lightweights including the Dallara Stradale and Radical Rapture.

It will be the Austrian motorbike and race-car manufacturer's second road-legal car after the KTM X-Bow, which has been sold in various forms since 2008.

Our photographers spotted a prototype testing at the Nürburgring, wearing a bespoke bodyshell and significantly different to the original X-Bow.

It appeared with a smaller rear spoiler than when we first saw it undergoing cold weather testing, as well as less camouflage, revealing a smooth, sculpted flank and carbonfibre splitters all round, plus a large diffuser at the rear.

It touts power and performance specifications that take aim at established supercars, as well as racing pedigree.

Power comes from a rear-mounted turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine, as used by the Audi RS3, although the GT2 racer boosts output to 600bhp and 531lb ft, compared with the X-Bow R's 296bhp and 295lb ft. 

KTM has yet to confirm whether the road-going engine will be tuned to the same specification of the race unit.

Drive is channeled to the rear axle through a seven-speed sequential gearbox and a limited-slip differential. 

Fundamentally, the X-Bow GT2 is based around the same Dallara-designed 80kg carbonfibre monocoque as the X-Bow, which KTM says "has been tried and tested in a dozen crashes since 2008". For the hardtop car, it's paired with an FIA-approved steel roll cage.

A jet fighter-style canopy lid made of carbonfibre provides access to the cabin, but small glass windows at the side can also be fully opened. 

All up, KTM says the X-Bow GT2 racer tips the scales at 1048kg dry. Added equipment necessary for the road car's homologation will no doubt push that figure up slightly, but engineers will work together with KTM's race team to "focus on lightweight construction" throughout the development process.