The appointment of Ken Block as Audi driver surprised many, but the Ingolstadt firm is determined to attract the attention of new generations with this collaboration with the American showman, as well as with the new technologies that it is using in its street models. and competition. And precisely the union of these two factors has served to put Ken Block at the controls of the Audi RS Q e-tron, the hybrid 4×4 prototype with which Audi Sport debuted at the Dakar in 2022.
In a very special car exchange, Ken Block has been able to drive the Audi RS Q e-tron with number #224 with which Mattias Ekström completed the Dakar 2022 on the snow and ice of an event with a great history such as the GP Ice Race from Zell Am See, a town in Switzerland. With his presence at this event, the Audi RS Q e-tron made its first public appearance since completing a successful debut in the 44th edition of the world’s toughest rally-raid.
The Audi RS Q e-tron, in which Audi took four stage wins at the Dakar Rally in January, was just one of the stars on the icy Zell am See course. For this event, the department of classic competition vehicles moved to Austria the Audi Quattro A2 Group B that competed in the 1983 Rally Finland. In addition, a DKW F 91 and a DKW Hartmann Formula V were also seen at the event, causing sensation.
For Ken Block, the weekend trip to Europe was like a visit to paradise, as he was able to get behind the controls of different vehicles of his new brand: “The few laps in the Audi RS Q e-tron were an extraordinary experience. , although the car is probably more comfortable in the desert than in the snow. I want to thank Mattias Ekström for his patient explanations on all the features of the car. A few minutes behind the wheel were enough to understand the fascination that the RS Q e-tron produces.”
In addition to testing the Audi RS Q e-tron, Block also took a little trip back in time by getting behind the wheel of the Audi Quattro A2. For the American, who fell in love with Audi rally cars as a teenager, it was also something very special. The American driver himself acknowledged that putting himself at the controls of this vehicle will be something he will never forget, even if the new 100% electric Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron awaits him, a vehicle inspired precisely by the rally cars that dazzled Block.