While motorsport legend Ken Block is no longer with us, Audi isn’t yet ready to retire the ballistic S1 Hoonitron it developed for him, with the carmaker handing over the keys to CarWow, and giving us a chance to see the car in action once again.
Audi built the S1 Hoonitron as the ultimate all-electric drift tool for Ken Block’s ‘Electrikhana’ video but it isn’t just a one-trick pony that can only go around corners sideways. It is also very quick in a straight line so CarWow lined it up against an RS e-tron GT and an R8 GT.
Watch: Take An In-Depth Tour Of Ken Block’s Audi S1 E-Tron Quattro Hoonitron
When simply looking at the power and torque figures between the three, they are all quite evenly matched. The S1 Hoonitron is the most powerful with 680 hp and 472 lb-ft (640 Nm) whereas the RS e-tron GT is rated at 646 hp and 612 lb-ft (830 Nm) while the R8 GT has 620 hp and 417 lb-ft (565 Nm). Unsurprisingly, the V10-powered R8 GT is the lightest car of the three, tipping the scales at 1,570 kg (3,461 lbs). That’s substantially lighter than the 2,345 kg (5,169 lbs) of the RS e-tron GT and slightly less than the 1,620 kg (3,571 lbs) of Ken Block’s car.
In the first race, the driver of the RS e-tron GT gets the best launch but once the S1 Hoonitron started to build up speed, it quickly overtook it and claimed the victory. The R8 GT was left trailing far behind. In the second race, the RS e-tron GT and S1 Hoonitron were very even off the line but once again, it was the drifter that claimed the victory.
It’s then time for a rolling race. The RS e-tron GT and S1 Hoonitron get the best launch but as Mat Watson hits his 140 mph speed limiter, the RS e-tron GT and R8 GT start to catch up. However, they couldn’t pass him before the half-mile mark.