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The Next Chapter For Gymkhana: Elektrikhana and the S1 Hoonitron will be the showstopper
by Khris Bharath, onHere’s a first look at the Audi S1 Hoonitron prototype, which was designed and built by the folks at Ingolstadt, especially for drift legend, Ken Block.
Overview
Ken Block recently left Ford and teamed up with Audi. He even recently had the chance to sample some of the German marque’s thorough-bred rally cars. While learning about the brand in September, Ken got a chance to take the bonkers Sport Quattro RS002 for a spin, and boy, did he come away impressed. The man has fond memories from his childhood of absolute rally legends that wore the four rings, like the Quattro, for instance.
Fast forward to today, Audi is making a big shift towards electrification and the 53-year-old American driver will help with that effort as a completely new chapter begins with this new partnership in the form of Elektrikhana.
“The S1 Hoonitron combines a lot of what Audi was already famous for in the nineteen-eighties,” says Ken Block, whose enthusiasm for Audi’s rally cars was sparked at an early age. “For instance, the car’s spectacular aerodynamics have now been translated into a totally modern form. I think it’s cool that the Audi designers have been inspired by their own past and uniquely transferred the car’s technologies and appearance into the present.”
A Design That Harks Back To The Past
The form of the S1 Hoonitron prototype draws heavily from the Audi Sport Quattro S1 that competed in hill climb events like Pikes Peak back in the day. From the onset, the team at Audi wanted to create a car that harks back to the old car, albeit this time around sitting with an electric powertrain.
As Ken himself put it, they have managed to capture the essence of the classic, wrapped beautifully in a modern suit. The design team at Audi managed to pull off the unthinkable going from sketches to the final design in just four weeks. Audi says that it generally takes nearly one and a half years for a new design to reach fruition. They also took feedback from Ken along the way.
“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. Spinning into a donut at 150 km/h directly from a standstill – just using my right foot – is an all-new experience for me. Our work was focused on getting the car and I used to each other. My thanks go to the whole Audi Sport squad for their outstanding teamwork.”
What’s Under the Skin of the S1 Hoonitron
Under the futuristic carbon-fiber chassis, you’ve got dual electric motors with all-wheel drive. It has been built to comply with motorsports’ top governing body, the FIA. The S1 Hoonitorn was developed in Neckarsulm, where the Audi E-Tron GT is also put together.
A story of the future that everyone at Audi is also looking forward to: “Knowing that we’re developing a car for a video with Ken Block that millions of people around the world are going to watch has provided our team with additional motivation,” says Marc Lichte head of design - Audi
The Next Chapter for Gymkhana - Electrikhana
If you’re a Block fan like I am, then we absolutely can’t wait to see what he does for Elektrikhana. This S1 Hoonitron will be the show stopper for Block’s upcoming video that he’ll be putting together along with his team. Gear heads and fans alike sure have something to be excited about. I, for one, can’t wait to see Block let loose on track with the Hoonitron.
Here’s Ken Block himself straight from Audi HQ in Ingolstadt, taking us around the car.
