KEN BLOCK TO ATTACK PPIHC WITH THE 1 400HP HOONIPIGASUS - AN AWD PORSCHE SVRSR!
When Ken Block moved away from the Ford brand and hooked up his new partnership with Audi, we’re pretty sure not many people considered exactly what kind of toys Ken would have access to. We’ve already seen the man hooning some of the rarest and fastest Audi rally cars from the insane days of Group B, we’ve seen him shred ice and show in the Audi RS Q e-tron that was the brand’s first competitive PHEV in the infamous Dakar rally, and we’ve seen him drifting his Audi RS e-tron GT in every location he’s visited with the car. That’s already some pretty amazing and entertaining stuff and it makes you wonder what else the man will be doing with Audi, but thanks to Audi being part of the Volkswagen Audi Group there’s so much more than the Four Rings at Ken’s disposal - like Porsche.
This means there’s so much more awesomeness to come, we’re sure of it. This slice of Affalterbach heaven is a purpose-built competition car that’s been put together by the crazy folk at Hoonigan and their Hoonigan Racing Division in partnership with BBi Autosport. This bonkers Porsche has been dubbed ‘Hoonipigasus’ and that name is derived from the aforementioned Hoonigan Racing Division, the pig part of the name is a tribute to the Pink Pig, a famous 917 Porsche from back in 1971 and the last part comes from the new partnership with Mobil 1 fuels and lubricants who use the flying Pegasus as their logo. Under that livery by Trouble Andrew, a.k.a. Guccighost, that’s sure to be copied around the world before month’s end is a Porsche SVRSR. “When Ken and the team at Hoonigan called, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to team up to create something unique and memorable,” said Andrew. “Reimagining iconic imagery and taking it in new, creative directions drives me, and in many ways my design parallels what Hoonigan and BBi have done with the car. This collaboration allows me to combine two things I love, art and competition, and for me, there’s no better partner for that journey than Ken Block.”
“The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is why I’m a rally driver,” said Block, co-founder of Hoonigan. “The list of drivers who have raced and won this hill climb includes many of my heroes: Walter Rohrl, Ari Vatanen, Michèle Mouton, Sébastien Loeb and Rod Millen to name a few. I’ve always wanted the chance to race Pikes Peak and compete for an overall win. With our team and BBi Autosport creating this amazing Porsche, we’ve got a good shot at that win, and with Trevor’s wild livery, inspired by one of the most famous Porsches in history, we’ll be hard to miss. I’m stoked to be a part of this iconic race and totally up for the challenge to add my name to those that have gone the fastest overall in the most technically challenging hill climb on the planet.”
The Hoonipigasus Porsche SVRSR is one of those typical Ken Block one-off builds that will no doubt become as iconic as his previous over the top toys. Instead of tweaking and tuning a new Porsche, this project used a classic Porsche 911 as the base. What’s left still resembles the vintage 911, but the car features that shoulder-height “Chorizo Tunnel” that sees Ken sit low down in the car to keep the centre of gravity nice and planted. Adding to this is the mid-mount engine setup that features a pair of turbochargers that equate to a stonking 1 400 hp of power - in a car that weighs a smidgen over 1 000kg. This car simply has to be one of the fastest of it’s kind at the upcoming Pikes Peak International Hillclimb.
“The Hoonipigasus is an absolute dream-come-true type of build,” said the founder of BBi Autosport, Betim Berisha. “It doesn’t get any more mental from a tech, power, aero, and visual standpoint. The original vision of the car came from a longtime friend of mine, Joe Scarbo of Scarbo Performance, nearly a decade ago. We then teamed up with our most talented engineers and designers, threw the book out, and took an unconventional path. We are building the world’s nastiest 911.”