Ken Block's Electrikhana with the Audi S1 Hoonitron

Ken Block and the boys at Hoonigan have released the newest Gymkhana video, this time set in Las Vegas and using the S1 Hoonitron, a modern electric homage to the Audi S1 E2 that was constructed for them by Audi. 

$12M is the estimate on making that car. I still want one. 

This an in-depth look at the S1 Hoonitron

Ken hasn't let me down yet. Very entertaining.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

The behind the scenes look at the car is very interesting just to hear Ken talk about how the EV powertrain allowed them to do things that physically weren't possible with an ICE powertrain or took old moves to the next level (like insane wheelspeed backwards entries) but it also did make some things, like controlled donuts, more difficult because of the massive torque and instant high wheel speeds. They also said that on previous Gymkhanas, they went through about 40 sets of tires, but the Hoonitron burned through 100 sets of tires because it was so hard on them and they were having to send tires back to Toyo to study because the crazy wheel speeds were causing them to bubble and blister.

Half that $12m is probably tire budget!

The inside views make it clear just how fast stuff is happening. I'd love to try it but I'm sure I couldn't keep up.

In reply to NickD :

I have not paid much attention since he stopped using rally cars, but I do recall that for the one with the Fiesta in San Francisco, they had the diffs set up so the car was basically undrivable.

dculberson said:

Half that $12m is probably tire budget!

The headlights alone were $300k. Brian Scotto mentions that Audi incorporated a sweet laser lightbar into the front that was designed to evoke the light pods on rally cars, but that when they tried using it, it was so damn bright that it blew out every camera it aimed at, and so they weren't able to use it.

You know how you'll back out of a video if it has annoying music over the sound of a great exhaust note? Turns out I'll back out of a vid within the first minute if there's no exhaust note...

racerfink said:

You know how you'll back out of a video if it has annoying music over the sound of a great exhaust note? Turns out I'll back out of a vid within the first minute if there's no exhaust note...

I didn't back out of it, but it wasn't as visceral as the other ones and I realize it's the lack of an exhaust note.  I kinda felt the same way when Chris Harris test drove the Porsche EV race car.  Something seemed in my subconscious because the exhaust note wasn't there. 
Not that it's a problem, just realizing that it'll be a while before my brain overcomes that lack of sound. 

The sheer tire smoke on that car was unbelievable.  Couple of shots made me think flames would appear because it was on fire instead of just shredding tires.  I wonder which had to be replaced more often, tires or electricity?

-Rob

I think the crazy electric car sounds are pretty awesome.

BA5 said:

I think the crazy electric car sounds are pretty awesome.

This. Combined with the tires, it really sounds like they're screaming for their lives. At full tilt it almost sounded Jetson like, at least through my phone speaker. 

I'm going to have to watch it again later on a bigger screen, but I liked it. I still miss the Subaru days though. 

NickD said:

dculberson said:

Half that $12m is probably tire budget!

The headlights alone were $300k. Brian Scotto mentions that Audi incorporated a sweet laser lightbar into the front that was designed to evoke the light pods on rally cars, but that when they tried using it, it was so damn bright that it blew out every camera it aimed at, and so they weren't able to use it.

What did they do, use the headlights from a Mach-E? 

racerfink said:

You know how you'll back out of a video if it has annoying music over the sound of a great exhaust note? Turns out I'll back out of a vid within the first minute if there's no exhaust note...

What if they foleyed in fake exhaust like in Rendesvous?  (Or practically every movie and TV show evar)

BA5 said:

I think the crazy electric car sounds are pretty awesome.

Same. There's no substitute for a screaming ICE, but I like this sound, too. Not better, just different.

That was very cool, especially all of the cool Audis they put in not to mention Mr le Mans.

I also really missed the sound of the ICE. The all-E sound isn't bad, it's just different. Like a VERY loud RC car. 

The continuous in-place 360 spins, while impressive, were nothing compared to the visceral impact of the speed with which he was doing the reverse-in, tire-melting u-turns. Those were impressive. I just kept thinking, "those poor tires."

I really appreciate all the "celebrity" cameos

Impressive stuff but was lacking in the "crazy" from some of the earlier videos. Not the electric part, but the "biggness" of gymkhanas like SF.