Ken Block

Drift legend · USA

Ken Block mid-stage in a rally car at Catalunya 2018, McKlein photo from Goodwood tribute archive

Car control as global video language.

Not a pure drift competitor in this context, but essential to drift culture becoming internet-native spectacle through Gymkhana and Hoonigan.

Block (1967–2023) co-founded DC Shoes in 1994 and spent his early career in skateboarding-adjacent action sports. He moved into rally in 2005, competed in the World Rally Championship and the Rally America series, and started making short performance films alongside his racing.

The Gymkhana series launched on YouTube in 2008. The films packaged precision car control, drift, donuts, weight transfer, choreographed camera, into a format that worked for an internet audience that had no rally context. Hoonigan Industries followed in 2010 as the media brand around the films.

The Hoonicorn V2, a 1,400-hp twin-turbo AWD 1965 Mustang, became the visible Block signature car for Gymkhana Ten, Climbkhana 2 and the Twin Turbo Lamborghini film. He died in a snowmobile accident in January 2023. The car-control language he built is now the operating template for almost every drift-adjacent media programme.

At a glance

  • Role: Media mythology
  • Region: USA

Career highlights

  • 2008: Gymkhana 1 launches on YouTube. The film that began the format. Drift-adjacent car control becomes a content category.
  • 2010: Hoonigan Industries founded. The brand around the films, the cars and the camera language. Becomes a culture publisher.
  • 2017: Hoonicorn V2 twin-turbo conversion. Roush Yates rebuild adds twin turbos. Power crosses 1,400 hp for Gymkhana Ten.
  • 2023: Death and tribute. Passes away in January. Goodwood Festival of Speed and the wider scene mark the loss; Mad Mike runs the Hoonicorn V2 in tandem with his RX-7 at FoS 2023.

Signature cars

Video

Source: Goodwood Road & Racing