You’ve heard of Gymkhana (click here for a primer, if you haven’t) but how about Climbkhana? DC Shoes co-founder and professional rally driver Ken Block is a legend in the drifting communities for his Gymkhana series, which takes beefed-up cars through complex drift courses and creates viral videos about the whole thing. They’ve been at it for nearly a decade. Back in 2017, Block and his Hoonigans took their 1,400-horsepower 1965 Ford Mustang Hoonicorn RTR V2 to Pikes Peak to drift the climb and create the first Climbkhana video. After taking 2018 off, Block is back, this time behind the wheel of his 914-horsepower 1977 Ford F-150 (the one used in Gymkhana 10) tearing along the iconic Heaven’s Gate road that cuts up through Tianmen Mountain National Park. The tire-shredding truck gobbles up the most dangerous road in China’s 99 corners with a seemingly insatiable appetite. Footage shows aerial clips of the truck whipping around hairpin turns, doing donuts around a person in a panda costume riding a hoverboard (because China?) in-truck shots of Block smiling as he shifts down and spins the tires, and corners taken so accurately the back end of the vehicle brushes the barriers. Block caps the performance with a bunch more donuts at the top of the hill, set to the tune of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Over the Mountain.” Appropriate.What a job this guy has,
Origin: Ken Block takes his Hoonitruck to China for ‘Climbkhana 2’
Block
One-off Chevrolet eCOPO Camaro headed to auction block
Chevy shocked the aftermarket world when it zapped into SEMA last year with its eCOPO Camaro, a concept car that amped up drag racers across the nation so much it hertz.We all good on dad jokes, now? Cool.At the time, the eCOPO concept was based on the 2019 COPO (and not the hideous 2019 SS, thankfully) and driven by an electric motor providing the equivalent of more than 700 horsepower. With about 600 lb.-ft. of torque, Chevy estimated the thing could pull a quarter-mile in the nine-second range.Now, the works of it is being auctioned off by Russo and Steele as part of the action at Monterey Car Week. The thing is an electrical tour de force, as the electric motor is based on a pair of Borg-Warner HVH 250-150 motor assemblies.Each of them generate 300 lb.-ft. of torque and completely replaces the gas engine. It is connected to a conventional racing-prepared Turbo 400 automatic transmission that channels the motors torque to the same solid rear axle used in the production COPO Camaro race cars.When it was being developed, Chevrolet partnered with Hancock and Lane Racing partly because of the teams success in NHRA drag racing but also its involvement with Patrick McCue. You may recognize that name as a driving force behind the record-holding Shock and Awe electric drag racing car and his Seattle-area Bothell High School automotive technology program.(Its worth mentioning that, thanks to the latter, more than a dozen students participated in the development and assembly of the electrified drag car.)Its the Hancock and Lane connection that likely allows this eCOPO to appear on the auction block. The general understanding is that the racing company, not Chevy, actually owns the car, meaning it may not be GM whos offering it for sale. Russo and Steele plan to auction the eCOPO on Friday night around 8:45 pm, according to its website, and goes on to say the car has many unique parts other than its drivetrain, including a one-off hood and a copious number of special badges.And, yes, the eCOPO does have a real VIN. Just dont try to pull any funny stuff at the
Origin: One-off Chevrolet eCOPO Camaro headed to auction block
Ferrari 250 GTO recognized as art by Italian court to block imitators
Simon Kidston, of Bonham and Brooks auction house, peers inside a vintage 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO which won the 1963 Le Mans GT race, in London, 30 October 2000.Adrian Dennis / Getty An Italian court has officially recognized the Ferrari 250 GTO as a work of art, thus protecting the design from companies building replicas or fakes.The Ferrari 250 GTO is regarded as the Holy Grail of classic cars, a claim supported by the people who drive and buy them, and backed up by its status as one of the most expensive cars in the world.The last 250 GTO to hit the auction block, a 1962 model with upgraded Series II bodywork, sold for a staggering US$48,405,000.Its the first time in Italy that a car has been recognized as a work of art, a Ferrari spokesperson told the Daily Telegraph. Its not just its beauty that makes it special it also has a long racing history.Ferrari started a petition to have the design and intellectual property rights of the GTO recognized after a company claimed it was going to start building 250 GTO replicas in Modena, Italy, Ferraris hometown.Only 36 original GTOs were built, and all of them survive today. Under the hood of a Ferrari 250 GTO is a 3.0-litre Colombo V12, which produced somewhere around 300 horsepower; that doesnt sound like a lot, but keep in mind the body only weighed 850 kg. The low weight and high power for the time allowed the GTO to take numerous victories in almost every aspect of European road racing, earning it much praise.Ferrari has always been a stickler for blocking imitators and recreations, famously destroying a Ferrari replica used in Miami Vice in order to give the main character a real Ferrari. More recently, the automaker asked the owner of a Ferrari F40 that had been transformed into an open-top race car to remove all Ferrari badges from the body, because of its
Origin: Ferrari 250 GTO recognized as art by Italian court to block imitators
Ken Block hoons his modified Raptor in Moab
Ken Block takes his latest Hoonigan toy, a souped-up Ford Raptor, out for a spin in the desert.Ken Block Youtube As Block says in the video, he drives a Ford Raptor as his daily driver (because of course he does) but this one is vastly different from his everyday truck. The truck was built by SVC Offroad from California, the same firm that did the tank tracks for Ken’s other Raptor. This time, the Raptor is running on Fifteen52 Turbomac HD wheels inspired by the wheels found on Ken’s other cars and wrapped in 37 Toyo off-road tires. The track width has been lengthened, and custom fibreglass overfenders give the car an aggressive wide stance. The truck is fitted in Avalanche Grey (not white, as Block is adamant to point out) which is a rare departure from his favourite finish: flat black. This works as a complement to the Hoonigan pattern showcased on the box, which actually uses reflective material similar to the one found on Block’s Fiesta RX43 used in Gymkhana 8. When light reflects off of the black accents they appear gold. The suspension is obviously modified with parts from SVC Offroad, mostly with parts that can bolt on to the stock Raptor suspension, along with triple bypass dampers. The front and rear bumpers have been customized to give it a more a pre-runner style as well. It wouldn’t be a customized Raptor without a light bar, and Block’s truck has two of them built by Ridgid, which feature GPS tracking that can focus or widen the beam depending on engine speed, and the colour can also be adjusted to anything Ken chooses. Block has even customized the licence plate with the letters HHIC2, which stands for Head Hoonigan in Charge, and the 2 being his second vehicle with the
Origin: Ken Block hoons his modified Raptor in Moab
All about car 