Ken Block’s Audi Sport quattro Replica is Bonkers
Next-gen electric cars will deliver amazing performance, but they won’t sound anything like Ken Block’s Audi Sport quattro replica.
When Ken Block was tapped to work with Audi on electric vehicle development, we knew the partnership would pay dividends. The long game, of course, is about keeping future Audi product as fun to drive as possible. But in the short term, we also knew we were going to get some killer videos. And while we’re still waiting on the long-promised Electrikhana, the reigning king of hoonage has just released a first test video of his Audi Sport quattro replica.
Now, this car was actually done in time for the SEMA show last year. Thanks to his busy schedule, however, Block hadn’t gotten a chance to test the new whip until now. It’s basically the same setup that sat in the Borla booth at the big show in Sin City, though there have been some small changes here and there. For instance, the steering wheel has been swapped out, the giant e-brake handle has been relocated, and because Block wants to daily this in his hometown of Park City, there’s an actual parking brake!
One thing which hasn’t changed is the weapons-grade 2.5-liter turbo I5 under the hood. While road-going versions of the quattro made around 300 horsepower, and Group B spec racers topped out around 600 ponies, Block’s machine is significantly more powerful. Thanks to a tweaked 20-valve cylinder head from an S2 and a huge amount of boost, this baby is pushing a whopping 730 horsepower to all four corners. So yeah, it’s a proper beast.
It’s also sporting a trick Borla polyphonic exhaust which uses a quintet of pipes in the muffler to enhance sound, without compromising flow-though. The result is an absolute riot of noise, which serves to remind us that while we’re sure to see crazy performance from the next-generation of electric sports cars, they’ll never wail like this glorious piece of rally-derived kit. So turn up the volume on this clip, and stay tuned for the Electrikhana video!
Photos: Youtube