When KTM announced that it was working on a car, everyone had more or less the same reaction: "Don't you guys build motorcycles?"

Here we are 14 years after the first version of the X-Bow went on sale, and KTM is hard at work producing a road-legal supercar called the GT-XR, based on the X-Bow GTX track car. The latter was introduced in 2020 as a track-only special based on the X-Bow GT4 race car. The $270,000 track toy was not homologated for any formula in particular. It was built purely so you could post insane laps, and now KTM is getting ready to unleash it on public roads.

The first teaser image of the road-legal model found its way online recently, and now we have the best footage yet of the car being hooned around the Nurburgring.

As you can hear, the road-legal version is also powered by an Audi-sourced turbocharged five-cylinder engine. You can hear the offbeat telltale howl of a turbocharged five-pot, and it sounds glorious. Imagine sliding around a corner, doing your best Stig Blomqvist impression. The X-Bow GT-XR is easily the closest thing to the Group B rally car we've heard in the modern era.

In the homologated GT4 race car, the turbocharged five produces 600 hp and 531 lb-ft of torque. For the track special, KTM turned the power down to 530 hp and 479 lb-ft. Why? It takes a unique set of skills to control a 600-hp mid-engine lightweight car with no electronic nannies. And most people like to believe they are part of the 10% that have the necessary skills until they reach into their bag of talent and realize it's empty.

We expect the GT-XR to have the same power output as the GTX because of its impressive power-to-weight ratio. With the lower output engine, the 2,310-pound GTX has roughly the same power output as the 2023 BMW M4 CSL, yet it weighs just 30 pounds less than a Miata.

In case you were wondering, this particular engine produces 401 hp in the Audi RS3 and 394 horses in the TT RS. To get more power out of the engine, KTM approached famed Audi specialist ABT.

The rest of the drivetrain will likely be carried over. This includes a seven-speed sequential transmission that only sends power to the rear wheels. Would a traditional manual be better? Well, KTM is aiming to make it road legal, not comfortable.

Will it be road legal in the US, however? Three-wheelers like the Polaris Slingshot are exempt from safety legislation. Still, the KTM's four-wheeled status means it has to pass crash tests and have basic safety systems like a rearview camera, traction and stability control, airbags, and ABS brakes.

While previous KTM products, including the original X-Bow, were road-legal in other parts of the world, US customers have never been allowed to use them on anything but a track. And if you are importing a KTM for track use, why not stick with the GTX?