Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron: check out Ken Block's new car!

Audi is making the most of the signing of Ken Block: the four-ring brand has just presented the Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron, the car that the American drift specialist will drive in the next video of his Gymkhana series. If you haven’t seen any of the episodes yet, we recommend checking out Ken Block’s YouTube channel. Here is the video presenting his new car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCXyP7sl1Cg&t=15s

For motorsport enthusiasts, the Audi Sport quattro S1 is a mythical car. Many of you will have read about the spectacular feat on the Pikes Peak climb back in 1987, when – quite literally – Walter Röhrl flew up into the clouds with a 600 hp “beast”, beating the record that had stood until then for the ascent of nearly 20 kilometres and 156 corners with gravel and asphalt sections, in 20 seconds. Without a doubt, it was a masterstroke by Audi to keep highlighting the superiority of its Sport quattro S1, after the abolition of the Group B cars in the World Rally Championship that the four-ring brand had turned upside down a few years earlier.

The modern, electric reinterpretation of the Sport quattro S1

The Audi Sport quattro S1 has always been one of my favourite cars. And judging by the images Audi has just unveiled, the four-ring brand’s reinterpretation of this model strikes me as masterful. You immediately recognise the car as an S1, with that front spoiler, the huge rear wing, its proportions… No wonder Ken Block is so enthusiastic: “The partnership with Audi is very special to me. That Audi has developed this car for our next project… a dream has come true! The Audi e-tron quattro Hoonitron is writing a new chapter and taking the history of Gymkhana into the future”.

Ken Block’s next production will have a name that suits the car perfectly: “Elektrikhana”. As you will have guessed, the Hoonitron is a 100% electric car. No power, torque or performance figures have been revealed. No technical data either. But the platform of the Audi RS e-tron GT looks perfect for this car, with two electric motors, quattro all-wheel drive and a torque vectoring system that will surely let Ken Block delight the fans.

Block himself says that, accustomed to drifting with combustion-engined cars with every kind of drivetrain (rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive…), the first tests with the Hoonitron have surprised him. Now he can concentrate much more on the steering wheel and the pedals, because as Block puts it, “doing donuts at 150 km/h using only my right foot is something totally new for me”. We can’t wait to see the results…

The S1 Hoonitron was developed in just four months, when the design of a project like this normally takes a year, says Audi’s design director, Marck Lichte. The technological development was carried out in Neckarsulm, where the Audi RS e-tron GT is built, under the supervision of Audi Sport.

Audi S1 Hoonitron image gallery