Electric Audi to star in latest Ken Block smasher video

Back in 2021, Audi presented the Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron, which has been exclusively developed for American drifter Ken Block. The all-electric car will star in a new Electrikhana video that Block has produced together with his team and which premieres on YouTube in late October.

The entire development, including the technology of the car, was conducted by Audi Sport. The design was led by Audi head of design Marc Lichte and his team in Ingolstadt. 

“When we first heard about this project, the whole team was thrilled immediately. The challenges were tremendous. It was about creating a modern, all-electric interpretation of the S1 Pikes Peak.

The timeline was extremely tight: while our design process normally takes one to one-and-a-half years, we only had four weeks from the first drawing to the final design,” said Lichte.

“The S1 Hoonitron combines a lot of what Audi was already famous for in the 1980s,” says Block. “For instance, the car’s aerodynamics have now been translated into a totally modern form and I think it’s cool that the Audi designers have been inspired by their own past and transferred the car’s technologies and appearance into the present.”

The most expensive car ever built for one of Block’s videos, at an estimate of about $12m, features two electric motors, all-wheel drive, a carbon-fibre chassis and the full safety standards as prescribed by the FIA.

An electric motor is positioned at each axle for all-wheel drive, with one motor able to be disengaged for rear-wheel drive. They power the wheels through conventional differentials, and offer greater control for initiating and maintaining drifts. The motors are used in Formula E racing, specifically from Audi’s Season 5 race car.

The electric power train required some adjustments for Block’s driving style. With no clutch or conventional handbrake, he has to rely more on throttle modulation to get the optimal amount of wheelspin for drifting and doughnuts. On the other hand, the electric motors’ instant torque provides quicker acceleration, and the Hoonitron can even be driven in reverse at full speed when a software limiter is disengaged.

“Audi gave me the opportunity to test it for a few days in Germany. I’m familiar with a wide variety of cars using internal combustion engines and transmissions, but there were a lot of new things for me to learn here,” says the drifter. “Spinning into a doughnut at 150km/h directly from standstill — just using my right foot — is an all-new experience for me.

“The Hoonitron is writing the next chapter in our history and taking our Gymkhana story into the future,” says Block, who has partnered with other brands in the past and his exciting viral video series has garnered over 550m views.

Electrikhana premieres on YouTube on October 25.