RS e-tron GT

Make
Audi
Segment
Sedan

As you might know by now, Ken Block recently traded his Ford for an Audi.

Block's new job at Audi is quite epic. Not only will he film a series of Electrikana videos, but he'll also be spearheading the brand's EV motorsport division. As the name suggests, Electrikana is basically Gymkhana with electric vehicles.

To welcome Kenny from the Block to his new job, Audi treated him to a tour of its secret storage facility, where it hides a bunch of fantastic stuff. One example is the epic Group B Quattro S1 that Walter Rohrl used to win the Monte Carlo Rally.

Since Block is now an official Audi driver, he was allowed to take it and a few other cars for a spin around the erm, block.

Group B rally cars are pretty notorious. They were the fastest, meanest, and most deadly rally cars competing in the sport. The FIA scrapped the series following a series of driver, navigator, and spectator deaths in 1986. At least we got a whole line-up of sporty Audi's like the RS6 Wagon out of it.

Few people know this, but the FIA actually came up with a replacement called Group S. The cars were less powerful, and manufacturers had to build fewer homologation units. Lancia, Toyota, and Opel built Group S cars, but the series was also scrapped before it even began. Now, thanks to Ken Block, we know Audi also produced a Group S car.

We have no idea why Audi kept this car hidden for so long, but here it is. It's essentially the same as the Group B rally car but with a sportier Le Mans-like body and a mid-mounted engine. What engine? The same mad engine found in the Group B Quattro.

As a bonus, Ken Block drove both the Group B car and the Group S car. In doing so, he became the fifth person ever to drive it. Talk about a job with benefits.

Make sure to watch the video with the volume turned up because there's nothing quite like a five-pot engine with a massive turbo bolted to it.

Where is this partnership headed? Apart from amazing hooning videos, we hope to see Block behind the wheel of Audi's Dakar car. The driver line-up for 2022 has already been announced, but Block might compete in 2023. He already competed in the final stage of the Dakar in an EV once, so a full race in an EV buggy makes sense.