ABT's 300bhp X-Bow

Tuner makes KTM's rollerskate even more bonkers

By SiMan / Friday, 24 July 2009 / Loading comments

Mr Vader wasn't that keen on the paint job

A new performance package for the KTM X-Bow brings the barmy featherweight up to 300bhp, an increase of 60bhp over the standard car.

The upgrade from German tuners ABT Sportsline is endorsed by KTM themselves, and can be fitted by a normal KTM service agent. With a power-to-weight ratio of 380bhp per tonne and 295 lb ft of torque now on offer, the already ample and screen-less X-Bow now has even more power with which to deform your face.

62mph now comes up nearly half-a second earlier, taking just 3.5 seconds, and an extra 10mph is added to the top speed bringing it up to just over 146mph (helmet strongly advised!).

ABT Sportsline are normally to be found tinkering with cars from the VW family, and with its 2.0 TFSI (a more powerful variant of the unit found in the Golf GTI and Audi A5) the X-Bow is thankfully within their remit - though at the time of writing, there are no clues forthcoming in the press release or on ABT's datasheet as to where they've found all this extra power.

Last time PH drove an X-Bow the power already felt pretty brutal from almost no revs, and ABT boast that this boost in puff will be evenly spread and leave the car just as tractable as before. So er, still completely terrifying, then.

This is not the first time a German tuner has tried to tweak the X-Bow. A firm called MTM already do a package giving the car 314bhp, but it lacks the OEM support from KTM and is marginally more expensive.

The ABT package costs £5,300 including fitting, and can be fitted to any existing X-Bow. And as a show of confidence in the package, ABT are even offering it with a 2 year warranty.

However, with the total price of an X-Bow with the ABT package now hovering around the £40,000 mark, it is still slower and more expensive than the Ariel Atom, even if you do get a little more bodywork.

It seems you have a tough choice to make in just how to go about detaching your face.