Ken Block reveals Audi S1 Hoonitron throwback-livery

Ken Block, a racing driver and ‘tyre slayer’ that needs no introduction, just unveiled a throwback-themed livery for his purpose-built Audi S1 Hoonitron gymkhana car.

Although we first saw the car late last year, it’s a good time to go over what the new S1 actually is and more importantly, what it can do.

Inspired by the original Group B era Audi S1 Quattro, the Hoonitron has been created by Audi specifically for Ken Block to set tyres alight in his upcoming ‘Electrikhana’ video.

As the video name suggests, the Hoonitron is fully electric with two electric motors each producing 3000Nm of torque. That’s an earth-bending total of 6000Nm.

Its entire body has been sculpted from carbon fibre and features familiar elements seen on the 1980s Pikes Peak Hill Climb Quattro S1 E2 like a large front and rear wing, as well as pumped arches.

And the total cost for such a car? Not even Audi would tell Block but he speculates it’s in the region of $10 to $12 million (around $NZ20 million). The headlights are said to be $300,000 alone.

The partnership between Hoonigan and Audi comes as Block’s deal with Ford ended in 2021 and so the German brand quickly snatched up the driver.

That brings us to today with the Hoonitron’s retro-inspired livery now being revealed as a nod to its forebearer.

Familiar red, white, grey and black colours feature throughout which were previously seen on many of Audi’s race cars over the course of the 1980s.

The livery also features many of Block’s sponsors including Monster Energy and Rotiform, seamlessly integrated into its look.

Hoonigan co-founder Brian Scotto said in the car’s reveal video that the livery needed to match that of Audi’s current design language but pay homage to the past.

“What we wanted to do was actually match the design language of the 80s and early 90s, which is the reason we [Block and Scotto] love Audi, with the current design language and that’s what we came up with,” said Scotto.

“This took many more iterations that it would take to put together a normal livery but I’m really happy with the way it turned out,” added Block.

The 11th gymkhana video called Electrikhana will be released on October 25 on Hoonigan’s YouTube channel.