ken blocks got a new toy

Ken block is awesome when it comes to Gymkhana, however he seems to suck when it comes to real rally driving.

It's an impressive party trick but thats about it.

Would you say McRae was a good rally driver? I would, and he had getting on for a 50% retirement rate :D "If in doubt, flat out"
 
Yes but its not all about retirement rate, its about putting the stage times in when needed, Colin could do this, Block (as far as i'm aware) simply isn't competitive.
 
At least this one wasn't as "slow-mo advertise my shoes" happy.

When it's his own massive company he created from scratch I think it was a fantastic piece of advertising - Many people wouldn't know much about DC if they weren't involved in some 'extreme' sports (biking, skateboarding, snowsports etc) so now he's brought his company even further into the limelight for the masses.

(Just read that back and realise you weren't saying that in the way I first thought, but my point still stands :p fantastic way to reach out to a wider customer base imo)


Ken block is awesome when it comes to Gymkhana, however he seems to suck when it comes to real rally driving.

It's an impressive party trick but thats about it.

But how long has Ken been doing rallying? And how long have the rest of the other rally-drivers?

I'd hazard a guess that Loeb or whoever couldn't touch Block in this sort of environment, just like (for now) he can't touch them in their environment.
 
That 0-60 time isn't too unbelievable if it's anything like the Mitsubishi "Jet" or Subaru "Rocket" anti lag systems.

Launching with 3.5 Bar of boost @ 1800rpm will certainly get you going quickly:

Listen for the change in revs when the S12 Scoobies launch at 0.15 and 1.00 in:

 
It is what it is, and for what it is I really enjoy it.

For someone who runs a shoe/apparel company doing something like an old bloke on a track day, I appreciate the effort and production put into it and the fun aspect. I'd love the oppertunity to drive something like that in a playground like that and it is a skill in its own right. Playing with 650bhp in any drivetrain layout is going to be interesting and I doubt too easy.

His presence in WRC is nothing to do with this video, this is his passion & hobby and is no less than the Top Gear guys arsing about. I must say though WRC seems to have died off a little with manufacturers dropping out and having people like Block raising the sports profile can only be a good thing. He's also not a traditional driver like the other guys, it'll take some skill to master the real off road terrains and a lot of the stages are already known to the other drivers. Not really watched his progress but I wouldn't have expected anything big from him anyway.

Anyway, love the sound of the car. Would love to build a project to that spec one day!
 
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we had 2 of those cars at work(DHL) being shipped to the USA a few months ago
i believe the standard cars are from rallycross.

i think any rally driver could do what he does if they had enough practise like he does
 
But how long has Ken been doing rallying? And how long have the rest of the other rally-drivers?

I'd hazard a guess that Loeb or whoever couldn't touch Block in this sort of environment, just like (for now) he can't touch them in their environment.

Quite a while. He gets beaten regularly (Or did) by Travis Pastrana in the Rally America series and look how well Travis did when he tried out WRC. He rage quit (lol).

They can drive, but they can't hang with the Europeans on the rally stages I'm afraid.
 
Look at how much Colin kicked Pastranas bottom during the X-games, Colin almost went on to win despite rolling the car on the last corner, these fake rally drivers have no idea :p

 
Wonder how many takes, and how many he trashed.

My thoughts too!

Still, an amazing video for sheer automotive entertainment. I couldn't give two hoots how good he is at real rally driving, it's besides the point of this video. Nice car too, for a fiesta!
 
It's impressive, but doesn't have the wow factor that the first video had simply because Gymkhana had never been in the spotlight over here.

The guy can certainly drive, but I agree with MrLOL - the drifts from a technical perspective weren't great and his actual racing ability isn't great either. Doesn't make me any less entertained from hearing a rally **** smashing the limiter for 7minutes though :D

Also the end of the video made me upset, if he didn't want those Rays Volks I would've happily taken them off him :p
 
Hang on, I know this point has been addressed to a degree, but 0-60 in 1.9 secs is surely impossible.
Even with the immense amounts of torque and bhp (not to mention boost) he still has to change gear at least once (seeing as they are short gear ratios) and there is no way he can move fast enough to get to 60 that fast when the rest of factors such as drag is added in . . .?

(P.S. Dont flame me if Im wrong xD I've only passed recently and while I like to think I know a fair bit about cars Im no genius and others are bound to know far more)
 
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