RS e-tron GT

Make
Audi
Segment
Sedan

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Ken Block is currently partnered with Audi. He's Audi's official hoonimaster and will shortly showcase the first video in a new series called Electrikhana. Block is also responsible for product development, ensuring future road and motorsport products are as good as possible. Hopefully, we'll see him behind the wheel of an F1 car soon, if only as a test pilot.

Block currently daily drives a custom RS e-tron GT, but Audi has been hard at work building his brand-new company car in which he'll promote the brand via his famous YouTube films.

It's called the S1 Hoonitron and will make its North American debut at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion hosted at Laguna Seca during Monterey Car Week.

The S1 Hoonitron is inspired by the 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1, which holds a Pikes Peak record that will never be broken. It completed the unpaved Pikes Peak in 10 minutes and 48 seconds with Walter Rohrl behind the wheel. Now that Pikes Peak is paved, the original S1's record can never be beaten. The original S1 will also be on display beside its all-electric grandson.

The modern S1 has dual electric motors, all-wheel drive, a carbon fiber chassis, and a full suite of safety features required by the FIA. Amazingly, the S1 Hoonitron was created in just four weeks. Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt was responsible for the design, while the rest was left in the hands of the engineers at Audi Sport's Neckarsulm plant. The latter happens to be the same plant responsible for the only EV RS product Audi currently sells.

From 1984 to 1987, Audi rally driver Walter Rohrl drove the original Audi Sport Quattro S1 during the Group B era of rally racing. The FIA eventually banned group B cars from rallying after several high-profile deaths.

It's unclear what Audi intends to do with the S1 Hoonitron apart from Electrikhana films. Audi went through the trouble of getting it FIA certified, so it must have some sort of plan. Perhaps Ken Block will hit Pikes Peak again in 2023, hoping to set a new record now that it's paved. It would be the ultimate collection of records.

Audi isn't scared of putting its new technology to the ultimate test. Earlier this year, it competed in the infamous Dakar Rally with three EV buggies, scoring a world-first stage win for electricity.