I have thought about this mod from day one of seeing the X. From what I have seen of the front bumper removed it seems as though you can just cut off the plastic extension that comes off the blacked out center bar.
However two things are of concern, once cut out will one be able to smooth the plastic to blend in with the rest of the section? (probably not). And is there black wire mesh behind the badge? If there isn't you'd have to get new mesh for that section which isn't a big deal. The smart easy way would be to black it out or go red with it which has proven to look very nice.
Sandman, post some pics when you finish with the black out : )