At a quiet ceremony in San Francisco this week, Ken Block and his crew took the wraps off the Ford Fiesta he'll drive in the upcoming Gymkhana Three. The video will be released by Block's DC Shoes production company sometime this summer.
Though based in name at least on the 2011 Fiesta production car, the Gymkhana Fiesta is different from the car Block drives in the Rally America series. The car was prepared by Olsbergs Motorsport Evolution (MSE), the company that prepped the Fiestas that competed in last year's Pikes Peak hill climb.
The 2.0-liter turbocharged engine under the hood of the 2,425-pound Gymkhana Fiesta is capable of 850 horsepower, says Ford, but it has been restricted to 650 hp to make the car easier to control on the limit. Claimed torque is round about 660 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm.
The engine is hooked up to six-speed sequential gearbox with paddle shifters that drives all four wheels. Ford claims a 0-to-60-mph time of 2 seconds flat, which if true, would make this car a lot quicker than Block's Gymkhana 2 Subaru WRX STI, which we timed at 3 seconds to 60.
No specifics have been given about suspension tuning, but Block said in a statement, "Aside from gobs of usable power, the real trick in setting up the Gymkhana Ford Fiesta was building a car for tarmac that handles as if it's on gravel. While most tarmac race cars are designed to grip, we need a car that will still react quickly, but handle loose, while still providing complete control; this is a very delicate balance."
ed124c says:
08:50 AM, 04/22/10
Oh, wait, now I see, there is some kind of a race car in the first picture.
prodrive says:
09:17 AM, 04/22/10
With 4 nice shoes like that... You have to have some good grip.
notabigdeal says:
10:46 AM, 04/22/10
Put some clothing on the girlz. geez!
windsor5 says:
10:55 AM, 04/22/10
^^
whats wrong with you less clothes less!!!!!!
bodyshopboy says:
03:48 PM, 04/22/10
The first pic is a caption contest candidate for sure. Perhaps the winning post will imply that they are putting on the car-cover and will allude to safe sex....