I wish I had a quarter of his skill.
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Nov. 12, 2008 8:33 a.m. Rangeball New Reader
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Nov. 12, 2008 8:43 a.m. Twin_Cam Dork
Most badass-sounding car ever award?
And I see why he gave the tires credit hahaha there was none left by the end I'll bet!
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Nov. 12, 2008 8:58 a.m. Tom Heath Production Editor
Best vid ever, Ken Block is my hero. Epic is the right adjective.
I want to run a gymkhana event very badly. If you aren't familiar, look for a bit of Gymkhana information in the December issue. Also, check out www.dgtrials.com to find an event. (he's on the board from time to time as well.)
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Nov. 12, 2008 9:16 a.m. RXBeetle New Reader
Absolutely awesome, crank the volume and hear that subie howl. higher res: http://video.kenblockracing.com/flash/small_player/preloader.swf?vendor_id=204&...
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Nov. 12, 2008 9:23 a.m. Stuc HalfDork
Awesome. I saw some wall clippage though.
That car moves in some unbelievable ways... do you think it has a separate front e-brake?
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Nov. 12, 2008 9:31 a.m. hotrodlarry New Reader
holy crap.... that was awesome.
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Nov. 12, 2008 10:09 a.m. maroon92 SuperDork
HOLY E36 M3....
why ISN'T Ken in the WRC.
I have met him before, and knew his driving talent, but I had NO IDEA it was THAT good. WOW.
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Nov. 12, 2008 10:10 a.m. iceracer Reader
Boy, how the interpretation of "Gymkhana " has changed.
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Nov. 12, 2008 10:52 a.m. Tom Heath Production Editor
iceracer wrote:
Boy, how the interpretation of "Gymkhana " has changed.
That's the truth! (although big, smoky AWD drifts are more fun to watch than an MG-TD struggling to parallel park or loop in reverse.)
Here are some Gymkhana vids that are more typical of a modern event from Japan.
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Nov. 12, 2008 11:06 a.m. Salanis SuperDork
Tom Heath wrote:
Best vid ever, Ken Block is my hero. Epic is the right adjective.
Agreed! If I could swap lives with anyone, I think it would be him.
Ken Block: "Why yes, I am an AWD Rockstar."
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Nov. 12, 2008 11:25 a.m. Keith UltraDork
I wonder how much of that is due to good editing? Notice the destroyed rear bumper self-heals. There are some great moments, though - the guy on the Segway is priceless.
Now these are gymkhana heroes. No editing.
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Nov. 12, 2008 11:26 a.m. Pat New Reader
Wow. What can't that guy do?
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Nov. 12, 2008 11:34 a.m. aircooled Dork
Tires, I want to know how many transaxles he is going through!
I am a bit confused by the whole Gymkhana thing also. It looked more like a lot of drifting with some Gymkhana thrown it. If that was an actual course I would highly doubt going sideways through all of it would be the fasted method.
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Nov. 12, 2008 11:35 a.m. Salanis SuperDork
Keith wrote:
Now these are gymkhana heroes. No editing.
That is amazing. I really want to do Gymkhana now. It's like... timed precision car dancing.
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Nov. 12, 2008 11:37 a.m. Type Q HalfDork
Judging by the change in the angle of the sun from begining to end and the number of tire tracks in a lot of those elements. It looks lto me like they spent at least a day filming and edited the best takes at each element togther. It is still amazingly good driving.
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Nov. 12, 2008 12:32 p.m. Woody Dork
I have spent a lot of time, both in Subarus and on Segways.
Subarus are cooler.
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Nov. 12, 2008 12:42 p.m. HiTempguy Reader
I wonder how much of that is due to good editing? Notice the destroyed rear bumper self-heals. There are some great moments, though - the guy on the Segway is priceless.
On specialstage he does admit that alot of editing is done (of course it would be, the run was perfect)! But nontheless s00per cool!
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Nov. 12, 2008 1:09 p.m. amaff HalfDork
Keith wrote:
I wonder how much of that is due to good editing? Notice the destroyed rear bumper self-heals. There are some great moments, though - the guy on the Segway is priceless.
Now these are gymkhana heroes. No editing.
Heh, gotta love the stoppy mini!
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Nov. 12, 2008 1:38 p.m. Alonso New Reader
Ken Block is awesome. I was fortunate enough to attend this year's X games Rally and had a great time. Watching him battle Travis Pastrana and Tanner Faust was really cool, and they played a tribute video for Colin McRae that made my eyes watery.
I have some pics and some videos of the finals here and here
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Nov. 12, 2008 2:54 p.m. grinch77 New Reader
berkeley that car makes me feel funny.
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Nov. 12, 2008 3:10 p.m. Autolex Reader
he won 100 acre wood (rally) here near st. louis last year if I remember correctly.
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Nov. 12, 2008 4:34 p.m. Volksroddin Reader
he also left the keys in the car
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Nov. 12, 2008 4:42 p.m. maroon92 SuperDork
I got to see him win the Lake Superior Performance Rally in northern Michigan last month. His driving skill is superb.
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Nov. 13, 2008 12:31 a.m. joey48442 Dork
Holy cow, he cant even keep the car going straight! Even I can do that.
Joey
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Nov. 13, 2008 1:07 p.m. PHeller Reader
I don't mean to sound bitter, but I am.
Maybe I have got a slight ego or something.
Don't you guys ever attribute driving skill to practice, and the ability to have someone give you a 530HP Subaru and say "ummm...make some smoke?"
I'm not doubting his abilities, but I think if I was given lots of money and free time to throw a car around at high speed on a closed course for lots of time, I could make some cool videos too.
I'd rather admire those of us who are extremely successful with extraordinary low budgets. Those racers who won nationals, or runoffs in a car they built in their garage with minimal sponsorship.
Block started a shoe company that did well, had awesome marketing, and now he gets to play with all that money. Sure he's still considered a rookie, but again, he's got lots of money to throw around.
I'm bitter because I'm poor.
