American motorsport personality Ken Block has released a new video in which he gets behind the wheel of a number of famous Audi vehicles, including the fully functional e-tron Vision GT from Gran Turismo Sport.
The video comes as an introduction to a new partnership between Block and Audi. They’re teaming up for an as-yet unannounced series of “exclusive joint projects” focusing on electric mobility.
Block, famous for his series of Gymkhana vehicle stunt videos and rallying exploits under the Hoonigan Racing banner, is a recent convert to electric power. He raced in and won the first ever round of the “Projekt E” electric rallycross event, supporting the World RX.
Audi meanwhile has been developing its electric “e-tron” division since 2009. That’s resulted in electric versions of some of its cars — like the R8 e-tron which appeared in Iron Man 3 — and the brand’s first ever electric production car, the eponymous Audi e-tron.
As part of this, Audi developed an electric-powered concept for the Vision Gran Turismo program. Revealed in 2018, the car packs 850hp of electric motors — one on the front axle and one on each rear wheel — but the most interesting part of the car is that it’s real.
While many of the Vision Gran Turismo manufacturers chose to make full-size models of their concepts, very few made functional cars. The Bugatti Vision GT was one, and that’s changed hands twice for seven-figure sums. However Audi put its Vision GT to work, running VIP taxi rides at Formula E rounds.
Now seemingly retired to Audi’s Neuburg testing facility near its headquarters in Ingolstadt, the e-tron Vision GT remains in full working order, and Block got to take the wheel for a few laps — and quite literally a spin.
You can catch the full video below, and we look forward to seeing what Audi and Block come up with next.
