The People's VW/KTM
KTM and VW jointly developed the “VW Motor Sport Edition”, a small, exclusive, special series of KTM’s Enduro 450 EXC Racing model.
For Prof. Bockelmann and Kris Nissen of VW Motorsport, the 2005 Dakar Rally was the inspiration for a special series of motorcycle. This offroad model should have a very special design and be offered to the employees of VW’s motor sports department. So Kris Nissen, Dirk and Bert von Zitzewitz began developing the concept of a VW edition on the basis of the KTM 450 EXC Racing bike, in order to then discuss and carry out the project with KTM in Mattighofen. Thus, the “VW Motor Sport Edition“ was born – a small, exclusive, special series of the KTM-Enduro 450 EXC Racing.
A total of 18 of these special, ready-to-race motorcycles were produced. Their components consist of the finest equipment from the KTM Power-Parts spectrum, such as large hand guards, front axle bracket, skid plate, fuel mixture screw, machined triple clamps, aluminium tank cover, as well as blue synthetic parts with a unique design by VW Motorsport/Red Bull. The triple clamps were numbered and furnished with the emblem “VW Motorsport Edition”, to indicate the limited availability of this edition. Every vehicle receives a personalised tank cover engraved with the name of the buyer.
On 25th June 2005, the vehicles were then presented to the future owners in Oschersleben – in the VW tent of the DTM riders’ paddock – by Bert and Dirk von Zitzewitz in a formal ceremony attended by numerous members of the TV and print press corps. Nearly all the riders in the VW Touareg race ordered one of these limited KTM’s – like rally star Jutta Kleinschmidt, former Dakar motorcycle competitor and third-place winner of the Touareg race in the 2005 Dakar. And of course Prof. Bockelmann, Kris Nissen and Dirk von Zitzewitz each made sure they got a KTM 450 EXC “VW Motor Sport Edition“ too. Every proud owner also received a certificate of guarantee and a commemorative T-shirt from the German KTM Enduro team.
Some of the owners immediately had the license tags they’d brought along mounted on their bikes, so they could take off on their first test ride – true to the motto “Ready to Race”...
