Wednesday 8th November 2023

Ken Block's final Gymkhana video inbound

Electrikhana Two was completed late last year. Let's hope it's a fitting testament to the man and his mission

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We were all shocked earlier this year to learn that a snowmobile accident had claimed the life of Ken Block. As John noted in the obituary he wrote at the time, Ken was someone we could all relate to because he never tried to hide his marrow-deep enthusiasm for cars or motorsport - or the special kind of infectious silliness that comes from occasionally driving beyond the limit of your tyres. Beyond his earlier success in retail, Block did a bewilderingly good job of combining all three of his passions in a life that was clearly fully lived. 

It’s fair to say that his legacy is already encased in concrete (and perpetuated by his family, including his daughter, Lia, who is already the American Rally Association’s youngest class champion at 16) but it turns out there is one last memento to slide into the trophy case. Specifically, Electrikhana Two, the latest in Block’s long-running and world-famous Gymkhana series and the ‘last-ever video project’ he filmed with Hoonigan. 

Clearly, the team has opted to keep the resulting film in a drawer till an appropriate amount of time could be said to have passed, and with its nod to past endeavours, the trailer recognises that it cannot be shown without acknowledging the wider context of Block’s life. But you can be sure the man himself would want it to be seen in all its rubber-smoking glory and Mexico City ought to make for a terrific backdrop. Electrikhana Two drops next month. We look forward to being blown away one last time.

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• Tragic snowmobile accident claims Ken Block
• New 'Electrikhana' does what it says on the tin

[Jon_S_Rally]

I must say, I was kind of "over" the whole Gymkhana series. It felt like they had reached a point of being a bit same-old.

However, the automotive world truly is a poorer place without Ken Block. Such a shame.

[Xenoous]

Jon_S_Rally said:

I must say, I was kind of "over" the whole Gymkhana series. It felt like they had reached a point of being a bit same-old.

However, the automotive world truly is a poorer place without Ken Block. Such a shame.

Sums my thoughts on this up too. A real tragedy. It certainly felt like a true motoring hero left us when Ken passed away, even if the Gymkhana stuff wasn't on my motoring top watched list. RIP.

[ian_c_uk]

If you have not seen it, I highly recommend firing up YT on the TV and watching his daughter take the "hoonipigasus" to Pikes Peak. It's a fitting tribute to his legacy and she is clearly talented - I don't think this is the last we will see of her!

https://youtu.be/uGK5auiA3dk?feature=shared

[hairykrishna]

Jon_S_Rally said:

I must say, I was kind of "over" the whole Gymkhana series. It felt like they had reached a point of being a bit same-old.

I tend to agree but the latest one, with Travis Pastrana driving, was fantastic. Elevated the thing to a whole new level of lunacy.

[VladD]

ian_c_uk said:

If you have not seen it, I highly recommend firing up YT on the TV and watching his daughter take the "hoonipigasus" to Pikes Peak. It's a fitting tribute to his legacy and she is clearly talented - I don't think this is the last we will see of her!

https://youtu.be/uGK5auiA3dk?feature=shared

She's fast. A chip off the old.....

[nismo48]

VladD said:

ian_c_uk said:

If you have not seen it, I highly recommend firing up YT on the TV and watching his daughter take the "hoonipigasus" to Pikes Peak. It's a fitting tribute to his legacy and she is clearly talented - I don't think this is the last we will see of her!

https://youtu.be/uGK5auiA3dk?feature=shared

She's fast. A chip off the old.....

He'd be well proud

[BrownEaredDog]

hairykrishna said:

Jon_S_Rally said:

I must say, I was kind of "over" the whole Gymkhana series. It felt like they had reached a point of being a bit same-old.

I tend to agree but the latest one, with Travis Pastrana driving, was fantastic. Elevated the thing to a whole new level of lunacy.

Ken Block brough a breath of fresh air to motorsport and the Gymkhana series grabbed the attention of young people who might not otherwise have been interested, but I agree that the later films were a little "more of the same" despite Ken's astonishing talent.

Travis is next-level nuts and certainly refreshed the series. I first saw him on a motocrosser at X-Games at the end of the last century and I was completely gobsmacked - his runs were simply batst crazy and he decimated the competition.

Edited by BrownEaredDog on Wednesday 8th November 21:00

[misterblonde]

He's a huge loss. Gymkhana was fun to watch. But...these electric Gymkhanas (Gymkhanae?) sound too much like a dentists' drill shagging a mosquito. I can't get past that.