Stepping towards the future but adversely remembering the past, Ken Block’s Audi Hoonitron will make its debut at Laguna Seca alongside the Audi Sport Quattro S1 Group B rally monster – a car that it takes its aesthetic inspiration from.
Quattro was the word that instantaneously transformed Audi from a German automaker to a world rally icon in the 1980s. It is only appropriate that their gravitation into the world of high performance electrification pay homage to their past which is why the custom built Audi S1 E-Tron Quattro Hoonitron will share its debut with its Group B inspiration.
After an 11 year working relationship with Ford both in and out of competitive motorsport, Block announced his new partnership with Audi in September 2021. The Hoonitron was unveiled shortly thereafter but it will demonstrate its capabilities at Laguna Seca for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion from the 17th of August through to the 21st.
Unlike the very model that was driven by Walter Röhrl in the 1987 Pikes Peak Hillclimb, Ken Block’s Hoonitron will not boast that sonorous 5-cylinder shriek that has become so synonymous on certain Audi Quattro models. That is because the American stunt and rally driver will perform his acrobatics and thatrics in his electrically powered Hoonitron.
Watch: Robin Shute’s winning record-setting Pikes Peak run
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expect any less entertainment from the latest pairing in Ken Block and Audi since the EV will also demonstrate its prowess in the Electrikhana video which will be released in the coming months.
There are similarities between them though, since the Hoonitron is based on the Group B machinery from over 30 years ago. Comical splitters and wings, old-school wheels and carbon fibre galore was the name of the game and when positioned alongside its senior, what a homage it is. No specifications on the Hoonitron are available yet but we can hope to receive more word on this closer to the Electrikhana video debut.
Keep up to date with the American motorsport icon on the Hoonigan Racing Division page.
