KTM X-Bow Arrow: Dakar-Ready UTV Packs Audi Power and Rally Suspension

KTM has put its name on plenty of track-focused machinery. The X-Bow Arrow is a sharp turn into the desert: a Dakar-spec UTV with an Audi engine and suspension technology from rallying’s top tier. At $100,000, it’s also priced like a serious competition machine, not a weekend toy.

Here’s the part that deserves a closer look: the Arrow comes from the company behind the KTM X-Bow supercar, but this isn’t simply a new body style for a familiar formula. KTM is bringing an Audi powerplant and World Rally Championship suspension know-how to a side-by-side built for Dakar conditions. That combination makes the six-figure price easier to understand, even if the available details don’t yet explain exactly what buyers get for it.

A UTV aimed at racers

The Arrow makes more sense when you look at the people KTM X-Bow is trying to reach: drivers who want a dedicated track car and still want to race hard off-road. That overlap may be niche, but it helps explain why a conventional Can-Am or Polaris side-by-side might not satisfy them.

KTM X-Bow has revived its X-Bow sports car, and the 2027 Arrow takes the brand in a very different direction: a side-by-side built around the same appetite for serious competition. Think rally raid machines like those seen at the Dakar Rally, not a utility vehicle with a few sporty add-ons.

That’s the interesting part. The Arrow appears to be designed for X-Bow fans who want an off-road race machine with no obvious interest in restraint. Its starting price is $100,000 for the higher-performance Arrow version, a steep figure that makes more sense once you see the hardware behind it. Whether that price will appeal beyond a small circle of dedicated racers is still an open question.

Power, suspension and a steep price tag

The KTM X-Bow Arrow’s headline isn’t just its power. It’s how much performance KTM X-Bow is promising from a side-by-side: an Audi-sourced, turbocharged 2.0-liter EA888 four-cylinder paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Drivers can choose rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. The standard Arrow makes 280 horsepower; the Black Edition raises that to 330.

Even the base model edges past the competition cited here: Kawasaki’s supercharged Teryx H2 produces 250 hp, Can-Am’s Maverick R makes 240 hp, and the Polaris RZR Pro R Boost delivers 275 hp. The Black Edition’s output looks wilder still alongside X-Bow’s claimed 2,425-pound dry weight, which could translate to roughly 2,700 pounds ready to run. That wet-weight estimate is an estimate, though, and the published dry figure tells buyers less about real-world performance than a running weight would.

The Arrow uses a welded tubular chassis developed with help from G Rally Team and KTM’s in-house X-Bow Lab Team. G Rally brings substantial off-road competition experience to the project. Suspension comes from KW Reiger, with adjustable units targeting 24 inches of travel and ground clearance close to 17 inches. Both versions also get active anti-roll bars, aluminum skid plates and a handbrake. A handbrake on a machine with rally suspension? That’s the detail that makes the Arrow sound especially entertaining.

KTM X-Bow Arrow Interior

Photo by: KTM

The two trims split on equipment as well as power. The standard Arrow gets standard brakes, 35-inch Maxxis RAZR XT tires, three drive modes, electric power steering and a rear spool differential with a locking front limited-slip differential. The Black Edition adds performance brakes, 37-inch tires and a fourth drive mode.

Its driveline hardware is more involved, too. KTM X-Bow lists a rear limited-slip differential with a disconnect system for the fly-off handbrake, selectable two- or four-wheel drive, locking front and rear differentials, and a front limited-slip differential. The Black Edition also brings a wiper, fully enclosed cabin, premium sound system, extra lights, a winch, beadlock wheels and a spare tire with its own rack. If you’re choosing between the trims, those additions matter at least as much as the horsepower bump.

The price of going all in

The standard Arrow starts at $59,800, putting it in the same broad price territory as the high-performance models from Can-Am, Kawasaki and Polaris. The Arrow Black Edition is limited to 500 units and costs $98,600. That’s a $38,800 jump for more power, added hardware and a longer list of comforts—an eye-watering premium, even in a category where buyers already pay heavily for speed.

The pitch seems aimed at customers who want a highly specified machine and can absorb that price. Whether the Arrow’s numbers translate into a convincing ride is still an open question. For now, the handbrake, rally suspension and 330-hp option make one thing clear: this is a UTV worth driving before drawing a verdict.