The Time When Ken Block Wrote a Book Using His Fiesta ST Rally Car in the Desert

Instead, Block likes to write in the sand using what we can now call his old-time love, the Fiesta ST HFHV rally car. This is a project that was written in April last year, with Block and photographer Jim Mangan hanging out in the Utah desert.

The two used a 75-mile area between Capital Reef and Goblin Valley to shoot Block’s dirt play, going all film on the spectacular stunts. The photog used a pair of 35mm Leica SLRs and a 70-200mm Leitz zoom lens, with their work being published in a hardcover book.

With the book going by the name of Blast, the video below allows us to see how Block drifted his way through the desert in order to give Mangan something to shoot.

And yes, the two did use a helicopter for the stunt, with a Robinson aerial vehicle catering to their needs.

We’ve all seen rally photos that show extreme vehicles turning the landscape into their canvas and this book takes the game to a memorable level. Those of you who want to zoom in further on the topic should check out the second video below - the footage offers you a glance at the actual book, which, if you’re really into this sort of art, will only act as an appetizer.

P.S.: Given the retro aroma of some photos seen here, the whole thing has a Group B air to it. It's just that Ken Block was a teenager back in the day when FIA allowed 600-plus horsepower monsters to race against each other with spectators acting as a protection fence for the scenery.