Motorcycle maker KTM really made its mark on the automotive world with its radical X-Bow, but a new report finds that the X-Bow was just the tip of the iceberg. The Austrian company is now preparing to launch four new environmentally friendly vehicles, including an SUV.
Codenamed the New Haflinger, the KTM SUV will actually be a hybrid between a quad bike and a conventional SUV. Although the New Haflinger will be highly capable off-road – KTM plans to enter it in the Paris-Dakar rally – it should be just as comfortable on-road as the X-Bow. The SUV should hit the market in 2010 in closed and open-topped body styles, according to the UK’s Car Magazine.
KTM ’s other project – dubbed the ‘innovative urban transportation concept’ – will see the company produce a family of three new vehicles for the masses, all co-developed with India’s Bajaj Auto. Planned for both developing and mature regions, the project will include a four-seat vehicle, a three-wheel trike and a covered two-wheeler.
Keeping an eye on the environment, the three new vehicles will be available with gas and diesel engines, as well as an all-electric powertrain – making the vehicles zero-emissions from day one.
KTM officials have yet to confirm if the vehicles will be sold in the U.S., but the prospect sounds promising. “While car makers like BMW /Mini, Toyota and Mercedes/Smart are still looking at isolated regional solutions and at derivative vehicle layouts, we have mapped out a simple yet sophisticated modular global concept which is tailor-made for all applications,†a KTM official told Car.
