Has Vinales Just Bagged and KTM X-Bow GT XR?
KTM rider Maverick Vinales has posted a teasing image on social media of him and a KTM X-Bow GT XR supercar - but what does it mean?
Newly signed KTM Tech 3 racer Maverick Vinales has hinted on social media that he might be about to take delivery of one of the Austrian brand’s X-Bow GT XR supercars, or is he?
The post, shared on the ten-time MotoGP winners' Instagram page, simply shows Vinales crouching in front of a light-coloured example of the Audi-powered supercar. Accompanying the picture is a post that reads “Something is coming”, along with the date “30.01.25 10:00CET”. While that could be alluding to Vinales taking delivery of the said car on that date, it also, handily, coincides with the 2025 KTM team and bike launch which is being streamed digitally across all channels.
Whether or not Maverick has actually taken the plunge and bought the machine remains to be seen. What can’t be ignored, though, are the specs and features of the car in question. It’s powered by a 493bhp, 2.5 litre, inline five-cylinder, turbo-charged Audi engine, which is claimed to be the most powerful five-pot motor in production. The body is full carbon fibre, as is the tub (where the driver and passenger sit) with the latter weighing in at under 100kg.
Unlike KTM’s early X-Bows, which looked like go-karts crossed with transformers thanks to the almost open-wheel design, the GT XR looks more like a road-going Le Mans car. And the performance of the thing isn’t far off that of the race-spec X-Bow GT2 car it’s based on. The 1,130 kg car is said to get from 0-60 in under three seconds, and given a long enough straight the claimed top speed is 173mph.
While no official price is noted on the KTM website, the GT XR is reported to cost in the region of £250,000, money which Mr Vinales can likely afford. Whether or not he has actually signed on the dotted line, or if this is just him helping out his new employer with a neat piece of marketing, isn’t yet clear.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
