Ken Block’s “Gymkhana” series went live. Christened “Electrikhana”, the latest to be released on Tuesday with his one-of-a-kind Driving Block Audi S1 E-Tron Quattro Hoonitron up, down, and around the Las Vegas Strip.
Block’s adventure through Sin City has been going on for a while. Head of Hoonigan and Audi Official cooperation by the end of 2021 to bring Block’s tire shredding capabilities to electric vehicles. While previous “Gymkhana” videos featured Subaru and Ford vehicles, Block claims Audi’s Quattro race cars were his first love of motorsport.
Ken Block and his Audi S1 E-Tron Quattro Hoonitron in Electrikhana
In addition to being the first electric vehicle in the “Gymkhana” video, the Hoonitron is also the first vehicle built specifically for one of these videos. Audi has developed a bespoke carbon fiber chassis that the manufacturer claims is built to FIA safety standards, and the Audi design department took inspiration from the 1980s Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2. Pikes Peak famous hill climb.
That car makes a guest appearance in the video, along with several other Audi race cars, including the Audi 90 IMSA GTO, the Audi 200 Trans Am and a R18 E-Tron Quattro The prototype of the Le Mans race shows up in out-of-the-ordinary snapshots at the end of the video. The 9-time Le Mans winner in 24 hours can be seen Tom Kristensen in one of his race cars as a witness to Block’s antics. And because this is Vegas, there’s also an Elvis impersonator.
Electric powertrain, derived from Audi’s defunct Formula E program, which means no engine noise like in previous “Gymkhana” videos. But the Hoonitron wasn’t completely silent as Block slid it along the Strip and through the casino’s garages. The howl of electric motors was once around, and it turns out tires make quite a bit of noise when they’re tortured to death.
The absence of engine noise is not the only difference. In one videos on Hoonitron, Block said he had to adapt his driving style to the EV. However, that doesn’t seem to slow him down.
