The 10 best Hoonigan cars
In its 11th iteration, Gymkhana has been electrified and re-branded ‘Electrikhana’. Ken Block has taken his new car, the electric Audi S1 Hoonitron to the streets of Las Vegas in a tyre-smoking tour. As the Gymkhana vehicles are moving into a new internal combustion-less world, it’s the perfect time to take a look back at the very best vehicles that Hoonigan has made.
10. 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Incredibly it has been 14 years since we first saw Ken Block squeezing every inch of performance out of a car in an airfield. Way back in 2008, we saw the first Gymkhana in a very aggressive 2006 WRX STI and it captured the entire motoring world’s imagination.
9. 2015 Ford Fiesta ST RX43
Star of Gymkhana 5 is this utterly bonkers 609PS (448kW) Ford Fiesta ST RX43. This was developed for Block’s Global Rallycross Championship, but it tears up the streets of San Francisco in arguably the most ambitious Gymkhana to date. It may seem tamer than some of the others on this list, but its agility and speed result in some of Hoonigan’s finest footage.
8. Audi S1 Hoonitron
The new Hoonigan vehicle was always going to cause some controversy in the motoring community as the petrol engine is left behind, but we’re finding it hard not to love it. The design is a perfect mix of original S1 and cyberpunk, and the performance is mind-bending. It certainly deserves a slot on the top 10 list.
7. Ford Escort MKII RS
Originally a 1978 Ford Escort MkII RS, this Hoonigan special is far from its original spec. With an N/A 2.5-litre DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder Millington Diamond Series II engine under the bonnet that weighs just 83kg, it can shift a lot quicker than the original. Revving to 9,000rpm it now has 335PS (246kW). It has not featured in a Gymkhana video yet, but with the move to Electrikhana, we can only hope it will one day.
6. Cossie V2
Ken’s first Cosworth unfortunately went up in flames in 2018, but thankfully he quickly moved on to the ‘Cossie V2.’ Originally this was just a CGI-design, but incredibly it has been brought to life with pretty much the exact look and livery. The engine was built and tuned by Julian Godfrey and produces 376PS (277kW) from the Ford YB engine. However, our favourite feature is that some bits of original Escort Cosworth were ground up and added to the cage.
5. Hoonitruck
The star of Climbkhana Two, this Ford F-150 has an incredible 927PS (682kW). The setting for Climbkhana Two is the Chinese countryside and one of the world’s most dangerous roads. In easily the most picturesque of the Hoonigan films, the Hoonitruck is just biblical in every way. It’s hard to argue that any of the other films display the driving skills shown in Climbkhana Two. Block regularly rubs the walls with the perfect steering input with a rather large cliff drop just inches away.
4. Hoonicorn Mustang
One of the stars of the 2015 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard was the ‘65 Hoonigan Mustang. If you were there, you would not have missed it as it could be heard from pretty much anywhere in West Sussex. It had an incredible 857PS (644kW) which is why the wheels struggled to get an ounce of traction. There was a later Hoonicorn Mustang with 1,420PS (1,044kW), but the original grabbed the world’s attention more than any other Hoonigan vehicle.
3. Ford RS200
When we first heard that the Hoonigan team was going to be getting their hands on a legendary Ford RS200, we were a little bit worried. Thankfully, as usual, they nailed it. This RS200 Evolution has a four-cylinder 2.1-litre turbo that produces in excess of 700PS (515kW) (800PS (588kW) on race fuel). That makes this rather swift as it weighs roughly the same as a tennis ball.
2. Subaru GL "Family Huckster"
A machine we are very familiar with at Goodwood, the 1983 Subaru GL "Family Huckster" made its debut at this year’s Festival of Speed. The amount of excitement we saw on our social media channels in the build up to the event meant we knew it was going to get a lot of attention. Thankfully, Travis Pastrana didn’t hold back and the Wagon flew up the hill to finish 5th with a time of 46.2 seconds. The time wasn’t the spectacular part, it was the manner of the run that wowed the crowds. You can watch the full run in the video above.
1. Hoonipigasus
What can we say about the Hoonipigasus? It’s just perfect any way you look at it. Built to tackle Pikes Peak, the 1,420PS (1,044kW) Porsche 917/20 Pink Pig homage unfortunately had engine trouble and didn’t get to set a time. We really don’t care because we can’t stop looking at it.
Hoonigan
Ken Block
Travis Pastrana
Gymkhana
Subaru
Ford
Porsche
Hoonicorn
Hoonitron
Hoonitruck
Family Huckster
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