Yes, A 600bhp Audi Inline-Five Sounds Amazing Through A Race Exhaust

We love that Audi is still using its turbocharged 2.5-litre inline-five. The only trouble is, the five-pots in the TT RS, RS3 and RS Q3 are all a little strangled by modern regulations, robbing us of the full warbly exhaust note potential.

No such issue with the KTM X-Bow GTX and GT2. For its latest racing car, the automotive arm of the Austrian bike manufacturer has slotted in Audi’s latest inline-five ‘TFSI’ engine into the X-Bow’s carbon fibre frame, liberated a lot more power and letting it exhale through a very, very loud exhaust.

To hear what that’s like, we need only look at the video above featuring 13 minutes of X-Bow GTX and GT2 testing footage at Monza. We suggest you go and make yourself a cup of tea, sit on the sofa, relax and enjoy the five-pot magic.

Internally it’s the same, with KTM and its long-time collaborator Reiter Engineering GmbH electing to change only the injection valves, the wastegate, intake system, engine management, and yes, the exhaust. This yields 530bhp and 479lb ft of torque in the GTX, which is plenty for a car weighing just 1000kg.

The GT2 is required to hit the SRO’s minimum weight limit of 1250kg, but it gets an uplift to 600bhp to make up for the extra ballast it’ll need to carry. When it enters the newly established series, it’ll take on entrants like Audi’s R8 GT2 and Porsche’s 911 GT2 Clubsport.