Ken Block’s been doing gymkhana for over 10 years now, and in that time has used about as many different cars, from a 2005 Subaru WRX STi to a 2017 Ford Focus RS RX. Block recently sat down to break them all down.
You learn some cool stuff, like the modified 2011 Ford Fiesta they used for Gymkhana 3 was the first with a bespoke handbrake, and the 2012 Ford Fiesta—or, sorry the 2012 Ford Fiesta High Function Hoon Vehicle—they used for Gymkhana 4, which they built in-house, basically just didn’t work well for awhile at the beginning.
It’s also interesting hearing Block and Brian Scotto talk about their decision-making process as they produce each car. Do we want this car to be homologated for rallying? Or do we want this car to be as light as possible? What about drive dynamics?
Each car turned out, unsurprisingly, to be and drive a little different. By the time they made Gymkhana 5, for example, they used the same 2012 Ford Fiesta but, after a year and a half of tweaks, had basically turned it into a different car. That car is the car you see in the GIF on top of this post, doing a turn Block says he wouldn’t have had the confidence to do before.