Watch Ken Block Hoon an Electric Audi ‘Round Vegas in Gymkhana 11
The first electric flying car to become reality. Gif: Hoonigan
Everyone’s favorite plane-dodging, dirt-jumping, Mustang-racing race driver is back on YouTube. That’s right, Ken Block has finally released the 11th installment in his bonkers Gymkhana series of films, and this is the first one to ever feature an EV.
As with every Gymkhana film, Electrikhana sees Block take to the streets for copious amounts of insane driving. But as well as being the first set on the streets of Las Vegas, this one has another big difference – it’s the first film to be soundtracked by the whine of an EV.
For the 11th Gymkhana, Block called on his new friends at Audi, who fashioned him a bespoke Audi S1 prototype EV developed by the team at Audi Sport.
Meet the parent. Photo: Audi AG
Dubbed the Hoonitron, the concept has reportedly been in the works since March 2021 at Audi Sport’s base in Neckarsulm, Germany. It’s an incredible-looking machine, and draws inspiration from the legendary Audi Quattro S1 E2 Pikes Peak rally car from the 1980s.
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The Audi S1 Hoonitron has two electric motors, all-wheel drive, a carbon fiber chassis, and fully complies with the safety standards of the FIA, motorsport’s governing body. All that electrical power generates 6,000 newton-meters of torque at the wheels, which reportedly destroyed three times the number of tires as is “typical during filming.”
Once Block is in this formidable machine, he shows off everything you’ve come to love about the Gymkhana films.
Electric cars are cool. Photo: Audi AG
There’s wheelspin out the underground parking lot before he bursts onto the streets of Vegas, right in front of the Eiffel Tower. A quick, and excellent sounding, trip down the Strip is interspersed with a few pirouettes and tire smoke from the Hoonitron.
All the sights and sounds of the Sin City make an appearance, including a roof top boxing game that sees Block clip four punching bags with his rear fender. There’s even a moment when he pops his wheels inside one of the casinos to spin for a few onlookers. Oh, the fun you can have when your car doesn’t spout fumes at every turn.
Electrikhana is also interspersed with even more iconic Audis of old, including the Audi 200 Trans Am, the Audi R8 LMP, the Audi R18 e-tron Quattro from Le Mans and my personal favorite, the Audi Quattro Gruppe B A2 from the 1980s. Lovely stuff.
Ken Block’s ELECTRIKHANA: High Stakes Playground; Las Vegas, in the Audi S1 HOONITRON
As always, it’s a LOT of fun and does a good job at showcasing how far EVs have come in recent years – because who’s watching this and NOT wanting to get behind the wheel of that monster?
