What do you get when you combine the Ken Block S1 Hoonitron with an Audi R8 GT and an RS e-tron GT? A one-of-a-kind 1/4-mile drag race with some fantastic "plot twists" and results. One was specially designed for drifting and looks like it came from an Area 51 test track, and the others aren't anything to scoff at either. Except for the hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars you would need to buy just one.
The first one on our exceptional list is a prototype, which makes it all the more rare. It's called the Audi S1 Hoonitron and was made for Ken Block to show off his exceptional drifting skills.
Ken used it as part of his Gymkhana series, only with this car, it was called Electrikhana. Sadly, the world lost Ken Block in January 2023 in a tragic snowmobile accident.
The S1 Hoonitron comes with dual electric motors, which combined can output 670 hp (680 ps) and 472 lb-ft (640 Nm) of torque. The S1 might be light on its feet, but not on a weighing scale because the needle points to 3,571 lbs. or 1,620 kg. The 50kWh battery might have something to do with it.
While it's still a prototype, it doesn't mean it was free to make. After the waiter cleared the engineering table at Audi, the check was for no less than $12,733,990. At least according to Mat Watson from the "carwow" YouTube channel, who organized this race.
Next, the Audi RS e-tron GT has an even bigger battery pack, at 84kWh. Of course, it's heavier than the Hoonitron, weighing in at 5,170 lbs. or 2,345 kg.
It has an electric motor on each axle, producing 637 hp (646 ps) with 612 ft-lb (830 Nm) of torque. This car's most impressive figure is written on its price tag, $153,000 or almost 120,000 GBP.
Now we're heading off to the Audi R8 GT, which costs even more than the e-tron, at $255,000 or 200,000 Great British Pounds. Speaking of the UK, only 15 units will be sold there.
This baby is RWD and comes packing a 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V10 that can deliver up to 611 hp (620 ps) with 417 lb-ft (565 Nm) of torque. The e-tron GT weighs 3,461 lbs. or 1,570 kg.
Now that we're done with the presentations, we can finally see how they did on the tarmac. During the first two attempts, two cars had some wheelspin and a bit of direction loss, so they did it again. Which cars? I'll give you a hint, not the Hoonitron.
The second time around, everyone had a great start, but try as they might, the Ken Block's Hoonitron made fools of the other Audi cars. By the time they finished every race, the Hoonitron was the absolute winner, finishing in 10.1 seconds.
The RS e-tron GT did it in 10.8 seconds, with the R8 GT in last place with 11.8 seconds on the clock. Well, folks, the lesson here is that a $12,000,000 car performs better than others six times cheaper.
Codrin just loves American classics, from the 1940s and ‘50s, all the way to the muscle cars of the '60s and '70s. In his perfect world, we'll still see Hudsons and Road Runners roaming the streets for years to come (even in EV form, if that's what it takes to keep the aesthetic alive). Full profile
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