A lot went wrong for KTM over the last 12 months. A lot. But one thing went right: It got saved. Yes, the Austrian motorcycling giant was saved from basically going the way of the dodo. And in that saving grace, one gifted by Indian motorcycle manufacturer Bajaj, it's been given the green light to continue producing motorcycles into the future.
The key word there being motorcycles.
See, for those who don't remember, KTM had its grubby little hands in a lot of pies at the end there. Not only did it have a bicycle division, which was an absolute albatross around the brand's neck, but KTM also had a supercar venture. Granted, it was a single model—the X-Bow—and was praised for its racecar engineering, it didn't make the waves that the company had hoped for.
How few of waves you ask? How does selling only 36 of them last year sound? Yeah, that's not enough to continue manufacturing the supercar, which seems to be what newly minted CEO Gottfried Neumeister is stating in his latest interview.
In a wide-ranging interview from Cycle World, one that borderlines on giving Neumeister far too much leg to stand on given the situation and business decisions that KTM made with him and outgoing CEO Stefan Pierer at the head, Neumeister states that, going forward, the brand will look to further streamline the business.
And that likely includes the death of the X-Bow.
"The headline for the restructuring is focus and simplicity," Neumeister tells the outlet, adding, "The most immediate steps to the restructuring is to get rid of the bicycle business. That will be done by the end of the year...Also, the decision to stop selling for CFMoto was jointly taken with our partner, as we need to refocus on our own brands." That focus is why the X-Bow has its head on the chopping block.
"We are far in the process of selling the X-Bow car. We sold 36 last year," states Neumeister, furthering "Again, a super project and we’ve proven what we are capable of and have one of the best engineers in the world. But the project does not help us to sell motorcycles."
So with the forthcoming death of the bicycle division, the X-Bow will likely die with it. I reached out to KTM for comment on its departure, but haven't heard back at the time of publication. I will update this story once I receive word one way or another.
And while it's sort of sad, as the X-Bow was one of those pure driver's supercars, one that was basically a knife's edge racer for the road and track, if it doesn't make money, it doesn't make money. It's a drain on an already drained company, and KTM can't afford vanity projects at present.
It's probably for the best, then. Though pour one out for the only real Ariel Atom rival on sale.
