Ken Block’s Audi S1 Hoonitron Is Ready For Eco Skids

Ken Block’s tie-up with Audi is all about electric cars, so he can’t be supplied something like a 1,000bhp RS6 to fool around in, fun though that might be. Instead, the German firm has come up with something much more bespoke - the ‘S1 Hoonitron’.

Inspired by the legendary Sport Quattro S1 E2 Audi used to take on the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, it packs two powerful electric motors instead of a warbling turbocharged inline-five.

The chassis is made from carbon fibre, and the S1 has been built to comply with FIA safety standards. That’s all we’re given in terms of technical details, and Audi hasn’t offered any statistics, but we are told it has “power galore”. Oh, and according to Block, who spent two days testing the car in Germany, he was able to spin “into a doughnut at 150kmh [93mph] directly from standstill - just using my right foot.”

See also: Audi Has Hired Ken Block To (Quietly) Shred Tyres In EVs

The S1 Hoonitron was developed by Audi Sport at Neckarsulm, where the RS E-Tron GT is also made. It was put together extremely quickly, as explained by Audi head of design Marc Lichte. “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,” he said.

What you’re looking at is not the vehicular hero of Gymkhana 12 - for Block’s signature series of tyre-shredding tomfoolery, we’re expecting him to stick with Subarus. Instead, Hoonitron will star in a video with the working title ‘Elektrikhana’. As with the car, we don’t know a whole lot about the film, but you can probably imagine what the content will be like.

Speaking about his new and unique set of wheels, Block said:

“The collaboration with Audi is a very special partnership for me. The brand and its passion for motorsport motivated me to get into rallying. That Audi has now developed this car for me and my team, and has joined us in our next project, has made a dream come true for me. The Hoonitron is writing the next chapter in our history and taking our Gymkhana story into the future.”