World first electric rally car thrashed by ‘Hoonigan’ Ken Block

Stunt driver and rally star Ken Block has tested the world’s first electric rally car in typically spectacular tyre-shredding fashion.

The self-proclaimed “Hoonigan” – known for the Gymkhana stunt driving video series that’s attacked stunning roads from San Francisco to China – has taken to the wheel of the all-electric rally car that is based on the Ford Fiesta hatchback.

Part of the Projekt E rallycross series that starts soon, the car is called the Fiesta ERX.

The car was developed by STARD, or Stohl Advanced Research and Development.

The Austrian-based company has been working on EV race technology since 2012.

There are three electric motors, two driving the rear wheels and one driving the fronts.

Total output is claimed at 450kW along with 1002Nm.

The grunt is sent to all four wheels via a two-speed transmission at either end of the car.

It’s claimed to blast from 0-60mph (96km/h) in 1.8 seconds. As you’ll see from the embedded video above it’s mighty impressive in the way it launches from a standstill.

The Fiesta ERX is based on a Fiesta road car but has been stripped and kitted out for race use.

As well as a roll cage there are other race systems and a tailored display and steering wheel, the latter allowing adjustment of brake bias and which end of the car the driver sends the drive to.

Block describes the Fiesta ERX as “a challenge” and one very different to the Extreme E Dakar electric car and Mustang Mach-E electric hoon machines he drove recently.

“They’re all different,” he said of the high performance electric cars. “This is just a whole different level.”

Despite having two speeds as part of its transmission, Block says he only uses one gear when driving around the rallycross track in Sweden where he will race the car.

He admits it took some adjustment from other rallycross cars he’s thrashed.

“The car is heavier than a normal supercar,” he says. “The weight is a bit more forward … feels more planted and more solid but it feels heavier. So you have to brake a little bit earlier. That’s taken a little bit of adjustment.”

In preparing a colleague ahead of a passenger ride, Block describes the car as having “crazy noises, lots of torque”.

It’s the noises that are the most surprising. They’re like a combination between a cat getting its tail stuck in the door and some sci-fi space ship about to break the sound barrier.

When the car is stationary there’s also plenty of fan noises, which is all part of the impressive cooling system that blows dry ice over the under-bonnet components to keep temperatures in check.

Despite the different driving style, Block says he thinks the Fiesta ERX is “more capable than a combustion engine for hooning and gymkhana”, in part because the tyres can be spinning at up to the car’s 240km/h top speed without having to shift gears.

Having destroyed a set of tyres with melted rubber still smoking, Block says the way it does donuts and wheelspins is “way too easy”.

“That was really cool,” he said through through a Covid face mask. “So much potential, a lot of fun.”