ICYMI: Ken Block proves the electric future doesn’t have to be boring | Video

Tom Suddard said:

Iirc there was a good documentary on Amazon about the making of a Gymkhana a few years back. Pretty much every shot has a dozen attempts and hours of setup. 

The Gymkhana Files? Great show. =)

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

id be curious how many tires he went through to make the video. 

I think they said around 40+.

The car is definitely impressive, and a few of the big slides were really coo.,l but my favorite parts were Mr. Le Mans and the Trans Am GT cars.  Yes it was a big Audi commercial, but it was fun to watch.

He seemed to be a bit more careful in this one. Not sure if that's due more to the cost of the vehicles involved, what the car is/isn't capable of compared to previous gymkhana stuff, or just his comfort in piloting the car. I was entertained, but not blown away. Maybe I"m just used to the formula now? I wish the vintage Audis had played a larger role somehow though rather than just being background stuff.

Gimp (Forum Supporter) said:

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

id be curious how many tires he went through to make the video. 

I think they said around 40+.

They usually go through 40 sets. This thing was so brutal on tires that they went through over 100 sets of tires. They were getting weird blistering on them, due to the instant high wheel speeds, so Toyo was actually having them send back the tires to study them and make improvements.

In reply to STM317 :

This^^^ What would have made that video cooler would be the old Audis chasing Block around like a pack of Banshees. But what I'm guessing is that this was shot at about 3 in the morning and even in Las Vegas, noise regulations mean something.

In reply to STM317 :

Tried to delete. couldn't.

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to STM317 :

... old Audis chasing Block around like a pack of Banshees...

Now that would be amazing. Probably an insurance nightmare, but insanely cool.

NickD said:

Gimp (Forum Supporter) said:

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

id be curious how many tires he went through to make the video. 

I think they said around 40+.

They usually go through 40 sets. This thing was so brutal on tires that they went through over 100 sets of tires. They were getting weird blistering on them, due to the instant high wheel speeds, so Toyo was actually having them send back the tires to study them and make improvements.

On a similar note, I wonder how the characteristics of the EV drivetrain affected the driving? No need to shift, much higher possible wheel speeds (which would have been under Block's control), flatter torque curve. 

In reply to STM317 :

Ken said he had to get used to a few different things with this car.  The seating position is LMP car like, your heals are above your butt and he had to relearn how to modulate wheel speed without a clutch, that may have had something to do with it.

I'd bet the tire problem had more to do with it weighing 7,000 lbs. than anything else.

I wonder if the logistics of setup and waivers for insurance kept this one a bit more tame?

Having limited time to set up larger stunts on the strip and then the insurance needed to cover incase something went wrong, not just the car but the scenery and there seemed to be waaaay more spectators (probably because Vegas) than any other gymkhana video they have produced. 

I need to watch it again later with sound. 

I think we were all hoping for a jump over the fountain like Evil :)

or was that a jump over the Shark like the Fonz !

And did Audi do the car build or did Ken Blocks crew do it ?

 I hope they run the car again ,  I doubt it fits in any race class !

This reminds me of when jet skis first came out. I remember seeing them as an exhibition after a (piston) thunder boat race in San Diego, where they had pros showing what could be done with them. After awhile, seeing what they do is no longer "oh wow", but "meh." We got acclimated.

These performances are waning in interest I think for the same reason, not because they're aren't spectacular, but because we've become acclimated to the same small set of actions. "Oh look, another Block video; let me guess, he drifts a car and generates tons of tire smoke."

As for "look how exciting electric cars can be", yeah, well, it's a $200-300K car, and 100 sets of tires are $$$$$. No one's going to be doing anything close to this in their electric car, and seems to be more of a WWF sort of thing, where people can pretend.

Car is cool and driving was impressive. I was hoping to be really excited about the video but yeah, the sound really makes a difference.  

Go watch the Hoonicorn in London and mute your speakers.  It's cool, but not nearly as fun to watch without the heart pumping sounds.  The ICE sound draws the viewer into the experience instead of just watching through a window.  At least that's my 2 cents. 

In reply to 05CAR :
 

Fun at the expense of others, especially marginalized people, has thankfully lost its shine. Let's keep  it genuinely fun for everyone.

Margie

I don't think anyone was harmed by the above post.  I didn't see the humor in it, but I wasn't offended by it either.

I did find the misuse of homonyms your and you're to be unsettling though.

I'm all for free speech even if I don't like it.  People can misuse homonyms all they want.  

In reply to Marjorie Suddard :

I think we're defining "modern times" as "the last quarter century" in this case. 

In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :

The harmless misuse of homonyms is what you found unsettling in that post?  

Keith Tanner said:

NickD said:

Gimp (Forum Supporter) said:

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

id be curious how many tires he went through to make the video. 

I think they said around 40+.

They usually go through 40 sets. This thing was so brutal on tires that they went through over 100 sets of tires. They were getting weird blistering on them, due to the instant high wheel speeds, so Toyo was actually having them send back the tires to study them and make improvements.

On a similar note, I wonder how the characteristics of the EV drivetrain affected the driving? No need to shift, much higher possible wheel speeds (which would have been under Block's control), flatter torque curve. 

I think I saw somewhere that this car generates somewhere around 4400 lbs-ft of torque, which easily explains the absurd amount of tire melting abilities, but at a level like that I'd imagine it's borderline unusable power, especially when it's instant, for anything besides being slid around.

Let me guess, "Words will never hurt me?" No, words have power and thankfully we've finally begun to realize that as a society. Frankly I'd just hit the delete user button if I saw that post and had that power.

edizzle89 said:

Keith Tanner said:

NickD said:

Gimp (Forum Supporter) said:

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

id be curious how many tires he went through to make the video. 

I think they said around 40+.

They usually go through 40 sets. This thing was so brutal on tires that they went through over 100 sets of tires. They were getting weird blistering on them, due to the instant high wheel speeds, so Toyo was actually having them send back the tires to study them and make improvements.

On a similar note, I wonder how the characteristics of the EV drivetrain affected the driving? No need to shift, much higher possible wheel speeds (which would have been under Block's control), flatter torque curve. 

I think I saw somewhere that this car generates somewhere around 4400 lbs-ft of torque, which easily explains the absurd amount of tire melting abilities, but at a level like that I'd imagine it's borderline unusable power, especially when it's instant, for anything besides being slid around.

The other video said it has two Formula E Gen 5 motors in it with a combined rating of 4400 lbs-ft, I can't even imagine.