Want to take to the track, Jack? KTM sees the quick increase in the middleweight sportbike market and brings the RC 8C back to market in 2024—but in very limited numbers.
As the name implies, the RC 8C is built around the liquid-cooled LC8c parallel twin engine. That’s the same engine design that debuted in the 790 Duke and has now found its way into the 890 KTM models as well as the 901 Husqvarna series.
In the RC 8C, the buyer gets the 889 cc version of the DOHC eight-valve engine, making 133 hp due to updated internals (KTM’s PR does not tell us what those updates are). That engine breathes through an Akropovic exhaust and custom airbox; this assembly is jammed into a chrome-moly frame that was purpose-built for this bike, not adapted from another model.
That Ready-to-Race theme extends through the rest of the bike, which was designed with help from Kramer Motorcycles. The RC 8C has quick-release tank and body panels, necessary for hurried trackside mechanicking. Suspension, as you would expect, is from the in-house experts at WP, with a tuned-for-track-use APEX PRO 7543 closed cartridge fork as well as an APEX PRO 7746 shock with a remote preload adjuster high- and low-speed compression and rebound settings that are easily tuned.
Pirelli race slicks are mounted on Dymag race wheels. The brakes are from Brembo, with CORSA CORTA radial master brake cylinders, and Stylema front brake calipers grab 290 mm discs. Brembo also provides the rear caliper, which is mated to a 230 mm disc.
Finally, electronics are the key to race-winning performance these days, and the RC 8C comes with the usual gadget suite along with an AIM MXS 1.2 RACE dashboard and datalogger with built-in GPS functionality. This techno-wizardry ties into a five-inch TFT display with continuous data recording capability. Using this equipment, riders can harness AIM RaceStudio to break down specific telemetry to improve their lap times.
Altogether, KTM says this bike delivers Moto2-level performance, with 140 kg dry weight that means almost 1:1 power-to-weight ration. The asking price is $46,899 in Canada, but with only 100 units made worldwide, KTM will almost certainly sell these out quickly when pre-orders open on March 20. And the PR leaves us with this teaser:
“The 2024 KTM RC 8C will be available to order exclusively online via a dedicated pre-order portal, along with the ability to book the ultimate handover session at Portimão, Portugal. This will include a personalized track setup session, private dinner, meet and greet, an exclusive track day experience with KTM racing royalty, and to top it off, KTM will be unveiling something super-special as a world exclusive previewing of what is to come from the brand.”
What might be coming—the KTM superbike that we were all told wasn’t coming a few years back?
