Ken Block reveals ultimate Ford Escort

[Wretched]

Ken Block has revealed his latest weapon in his war against tyres - the ultimate classic Ford Escort.

Block has teamed up with his clothing brand Hoonigan to build this 1978 Ford Escort Mk2 RS to compete in Gymkhana Grid competitions.

The car has been built by Block's Hoonigan Racing Division rally team with help from renowned widebody designer Rocket Bunny, as well as Escort specialists in England. It combines modern rally car knowledge and technology inside the classic body.

The engine is a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder that produces 248kW and revs all the way to 9000rpm. It is paired to a six-speed sequential gearbox and sends the power to the rear wheels; making it Block's first two-wheel drive Gymkhana machine.

"This Escort Mk2 is special to me, it's actually my first Ford rally car," Block said.

"I purchased it in 2008. It was designed to compete in tarmac events, but unfortunately those are quite lacking now stateside, so instead of converting it into a gravel machine, I had my team at Hoonigan Racing Division extend on its tarmac capabilities and develop it into the ultimate rear wheel-drive Gymkhana car.

"This car has been something I've been working on slowly for a long time now," he added.

"I'm stoked with how the whole thing turned out. My team and Graham Quick at Quick Motorsport in the U.K. did a great job on the build of the car, Rocket Bunny did an awesome job with the exterior styling and I absolutely love how The Hoonigans took something I really love - the American flag - and remixed it into a badass graphic for the livery of this car. I've only been able to test this car for two days, but I'm looking forward to slaying some more tires in this thing really soon. The car absolutely rips, especially at 9,000 rpm."

Block revealed he is working on a new video project for the car in 2016 but will give the car its public debut at the finale round of the Gymkhana Grid competition in England this weekend.

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/k...21-gkey8z.html

Not a fan of KB but respect the work done on this and the Mustang.