The KTM X-Bow project is owned by the world’s largest beer company
With KTM focusing on its core two-wheeled products, a new owner was needed for its X-Bow supercar brand. Enter the beer company InBev.
KTM seems to have found an unusual buyer for its X-Bow car brand, with the giant beer company InBev (as in a really big company and not maker of giant pints) has stepped up to buy the brand. Lock, stock, and, errrr barrel.
Quite how the worlds of beer and brawny sports cars have combined is beyond us, in fact, the more we look at it, the less we understand! The closest you normally get to this is beer sponsorship at MotoGP and Formula One races, and more often than not its the zero percent stuff that gets the airtime.
Nonetheless, InBev are now the makers of Budweiser and the diminutive but highly regarded X-Bow.
To find out why this huge corporation with fingers in all the global pints wanted to pick up the brand, we have to look at who owns InBev. That is the De Mevius family, a family that has built its fortune on hangovers and likes to spend said fortune on motorsport. According to Jalopnik, Gregoire De Mevius is a long-time rally and Dakar racer, while his sons, Guillaume and Ghislain, are also not shy of some pro-level on track action. It's worth noting that some other investors are involved in the purchase, a bit like rich mates going halves on an old MotoGP bike to flog at trackdays, although reports suggest the bulk of the buying power comes from the De Mevius family.
The fact that the X-Bow lived as long as it did under KTM ownership is actually quite surprising. KTM never claimed to be a car manufacturer, and while it didn’t directly manufacture the X-Bow (they are manufactured by Dallara), it did at least build a name for itself outside of the motorcycle world. The X-Bow seemed like it was a project that could have a lot of potential, but with KTM looking to rebuild itself, production of the four-wheeler was halted, and a buyer was sought.
So, the owner of the brewer responsible for Budweiser, Corona, and Stella is now the owner of KTM’s X-Bow supercar brand.
I definitely didn’t have that on my 2025 bingo card.
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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!
After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
