Tag: Audi Sport quattro

Ken Block’s Audi Sport quattro Replica is Bonkers

Ken Block's Audi Sport Quattro Replica

Next-gen electric cars will deliver amazing performance, but they won’t sound anything like Ken Block’s Audi Sport quattro replica.

When Ken Block was tapped to work with Audi on electric vehicle development, we knew the partnership would pay dividends. The long game, of course, is about keeping future Audi product as fun to drive as possible. But in the short term, we also knew we were going to get some killer videos. And while we’re still waiting on the long-promised Electrikhana, the reigning king of hoonage has just released a first test video of his Audi Sport quattro replica.

Now, this car was actually done in time for the SEMA show last year. Thanks to his busy schedule, however, Block hadn’t gotten a chance to test the new whip until now. It’s basically the same setup that sat in the Borla booth at the big show in Sin City, though there have been some small changes here and there. For instance, the steering wheel has been swapped out, the giant e-brake handle has been relocated, and because Block wants to daily this in his hometown of Park City, there’s an actual parking brake!

One thing which hasn’t changed is the weapons-grade 2.5-liter turbo I5 under the hood. While road-going versions of the quattro made around 300 horsepower, and Group B spec racers topped out around 600 ponies, Block’s machine is significantly more powerful. Thanks to a tweaked 20-valve cylinder head from an S2 and a huge amount of boost, this baby is pushing a whopping 730 horsepower to all four corners. So yeah, it’s a proper beast.

It’s also sporting a trick Borla polyphonic exhaust which uses a quintet of pipes in the muffler to enhance sound, without compromising flow-though. The result is an absolute riot of noise, which serves to remind us that while we’re sure to see crazy performance from the next-generation of electric sports cars, they’ll never wail like this glorious piece of rally-derived kit. So turn up the volume on this clip, and stay tuned for the Electrikhana video!

Photos: Youtube

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LCE Performance Audi Quattos Makes Big Splash at SEMA 2021

Rocketbyz Audi Quattro

German Audi builder LCE Performance machines include art-car tribute to Walter Rohl’s Pikes Peak climb, Ken Block’s “Turbomonster.”

The SEMA Show isn’t just a showcase of the latest products, but also the place for manufacturers and tuners to show what they can do. Audi sometimes makes an official appearance at the show, the latest being 2017 with its TT Clubsport concept. That’s not to say Ingolstadt’s best doesn’t turn up, though.

German Audi builder LCE Performance turned up for SEMA 2021 with a pair of Audi Quattros. One’s an artistic tribute to Walter Rohl’s Pikes Peak climb in 1987. The other was their “Turbomonster,” now in the hands of Ken Block.

Especially when Ken Block is involved. Alongside Hoonigans’ Brian Scotto and his Coupe Quattro, Block brought a pair of special Audis for Toyo Tires’ Treadpass SEMA 2021 display.

LCE Performance Turbomonster Audi Sport Quattro

The origin of Block’s Quattro began as a search to build a monster in tribute to Audi’s post-Group B activities. Specifically, Walter Rohl’s run up Pikes Peak in 1987 in the Sport Quattro S1. With Scotto and the Hoonigans film crew, Block visited Germany a few months ago to source the perfect specimen.

Ken Block Turbomonster

“We spoke to the guys in LCE,” said Scotto. “They were like, ‘Yeah! That’s awesome! We’d love to build you one. How does 2025 sound?’ We were like, ‘No. That’s not gonna work for us at all. You must have a client car or something that we can buy, and then modify from there.’ And he was like, ‘Ahhhhh.’ I could hear in his voice that he had something he didn’t want to sell us. So, we just kept pushing and pushing and pushing.”

Thus, the acquisition of LCE’s demonstrator, dubbed the “Turbomonster.” Back when it was active, the Sport Quattro made 1,081 horsepower from its beefed up turbo-five. Everything from a modded S2 cylinder head to a camshaft from a Volkswagen diesel bus contributed to the mad power boost, all funneled to the corners via a six-speed manual.

Rocketbyz Audi Quattro

Block’s now-white Sport Quattro is joined by SEMA 2021 by LCE’s other Audi, a collab with visual artist Rocketbyz. The Quattro’s matte black surface is covered in splashes of bright yellow, green, pink, white and orange paint. The cherry on top, though, is a portrait of Walter Rohl on the rear wing.

Photos: Newspress USA, LCE Performance, Instagram/Toyo Tires

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Cameron Aubernon’s path to automotive journalism began in the early New ’10s. Back then, a friend of hers thought she was an independent fashion blogger.

Aubernon wasn’t, so she became one, covering fashion in her own way for the next few years.

From there, she’s written for: Louisville.com/Louisville Magazine, Insider Louisville, The Voice-Tribune/The Voice, TOPS Louisville, Jeffersontown Magazine, Dispatches Europe, The Truth About Cars, Automotive News, Yahoo Autos, RideApart, Hagerty, and Street Trucks.

Aubernon also served as the editor-in-chief of a short-lived online society publication in Louisville, Kentucky, interned at the city’s NPR affiliate, WFPL-FM, and was the de facto publicist-in-residence for a communal art space near the University of Louisville.

Aubernon is a member of the International Motor Press Association, and the Washington Automotive Press Association.

Ken Block Hoons RS e-tron GT, Teases ‘Electrickhana’ Video

Ken Block Electrikhana

A new gymkhana-style video from Ken Block is in the works. But first, we get to watch him drive Audis old and new.

Last week, I wrote about how Ken Block’s new partnership with Audi means lots of cool videos are on the way — and the relationship is already paying dividends. According to the clip released this week, the first big project between Ingolstadt and Block will be a video titled Electrickhana, which unless I’m completely delusional, will be a gymkhana-style video using Audi’s latest all-electric hardware, like the RS Q e-tron. But that doesn’t mean we’ll have to wait to see Block flogging some Audis.

Here, we get to see the American rally driver get behind the wheel of the iconic Sport Quattro, and even for someone as accomplished as Block, it’s clear that’s a big deal for him. He’s previously said that watching that car dominate the competition was one of the reasons he became interested in motorsport in the first place, so getting to drive a literal museum piece is about as cool as it gets. Honestly? I’m surprised that we get to see him driving a gas-powered Audi at all, given that his day job is racing for Subaru. Sponsors can get prickly about that kind of thing, you know.

That said, as cool as the old rally machine weapon is, Block babies it a bit — and watching him rip around in the e-tron is more fun. He’s obviously having a blast, and even this little taste proves that if Audi was looking for an ambassador to convince people that going electric doesn’t mean swearing off driving pleasure? It did a great job. Given how choreographed Block’s previous videos were, I’m expecting greatness when Electrickhana drops, and I’m sure that it’ll break the internet.

The behind the scenes stuff is sure to be fascinating too, and I’m looking forward to learning about how the electric vehicles will have to be modified to accommodate Block’s precision, slide-happy style. I’m particularly curious as to how many of the driver aids mere mortals — like yours truly — will be able to defeat on the production models. Not because I think I’d be better without them, of course, but because doing donuts in a closed-off parking lot is one of life’s great joys. Keep your fingers crossed for a rowdy “drift mode” setting…

Photos: Audi

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