Ken Block Takes An Electric Audi To Vegas, Hoonitron Madness Ensues

Take rally car and stunt driver Ken Block’s penchant for spectacle, add Audi’s knowledge of electric cars via its e-tron models and Formula E racing, drop both onto the Las Vegas Strip, and stir while adding liberal amounts of tire smoke. What do you get? Block’s latest Gymkhana video, but also his first in an electric vehicle.

Block somehow some way persuaded Las Vegas authorities to shut down the iconic Vegas Strip (likely in the wee hours), one of the busiest roadways in America, so he could whip his custom “Hoonitron” Audi electric rally car through James Bond-style in-motion 360 spins, rear-facing power slides around some traffic islands, and some rear wing heavy bag punches.

As noted, it’s all done in a custom-built electric Audi based on the Audi quattro S1 E2 Pikes Peak rally car from the 1980s (above) that Block says is one of his favorites. The Electrikhana version of the classic racer features two electric motors powering an all-wheel drive system, and Block says the car makes 6,000 Newton-meters of torque, which pencils out to over 4,400 pound-feet of twist. No horsepower figure was given, and the car doesn’t appear short on power. “While I may love the sound of a turbo engine, or the grunt of a V8, we have done that all before,” Block said in a press release. “The instant torque and shiftless nature of an electric motor allowed for us to push certain tricks to a whole new realm. From extremely exaggerated backward entries or flawless high speed 360s and four-wheel smoking launches, this Hoonitron is an all-new experience in our Gymkhana world.”

All that torque meant the team went through about three times the usual number of Toyo tires it typically uses in a Gymkhana shoot, which seem reasonable after seeing the speed, effortless wheelspin and AQI-crushing levels of tire smoke. At the end of the video, Block puts the Audi in a steering-locked spin under a Las Vegas sign arch, and Block said the car hit nearly 90mph while spinning in place. The final spin “created G forces I have never experienced before in any race car,” Block said.

And while the driving is on point as usual, the sound of the car is… odd, since no howling twin-turbo V8 or redline-banging small-bore rally car engine is turning the wheels. Instead, the Audi emits that dinstive electric car whir that’s easy on the ears or sonic sacrilege, depending on your motorized preferences.

Block continues to race rally cars and it’s become quite the family affair as his teenage daughter, Lia, is now racing, as is his wife, Lucy. You can check out the whole Electrikhana video below and the rest of the Gymkhana series here.