Ford's Hoon-mobile

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Ford's Hoon-mobile
Stephen Ottley
July 29, 2011
Comments 10

Ken Block's new Ford Fiesta is known as the H.F.H.V.
This is not your average hybrid, but Ken Block isn't your average driver.

YouTube rally star Ken Block has revealed his unique take on a hybrid car. His new Ford Fiesta is known as the H.F.H.V, which stands for Hybrid Function Hoon Vehicle.

Tired of having to use three different cars for his various types of rally - gymkhana, rallycross and stage rally - he decided to build a three-in-one car. The suspension, engine performance, gearbox and wheels are changed for each discipline and can be done within a day.

"Many people may not realize this, but despite the fundamental similarities between stage rally, rallycross and gymkhana, in order to be the best at each, you must have specific built vehicles," Block said. "My WRC (world rally championship) Fiesta just can't do what my Gymkhana Fiesta can, and vice versa. But having to campaign three separate cars is a nightmare, so we built one car that can be transformed to suit each form of racing I do on the highest level."

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The H.F.H.V. is based on the Fiesta that Block uses in the WRC but uses the bigger 2.0-litre turbocharged engine from last year's Focus WRC machine; and there's not an electric motor or battery pack in sight. It uses old fashioned fossil fuel to pump out more than 448kW of power and 900Nm of torque; which is enough to shred any set of tyres in Block's donut-filled videos.



"The H.F.H.V. is the best of all worlds for me," he added. "The current WRC Fiesta is the greatest handling car I have driven, but it lacks the sheer grunt that the 2.0L engine in the WRC Focus created. The H.F.H.V. brings those two things together, and the result is a manic beast that is just too much fun to drive."

The American also confirmed this week that production of the fourth instalment of his popular Gymkhana viral videos has begun. As well as confirming the H.F.H.V. will be the star of the new flick he promised to improve on his previous videos that have attracted more than 30 million online views and turned him into a global celebrity.

"I'm unbelievably stoked about how Gymkhana Four is going," said Block. "I did it in a brand new racecar that we've just finished building and it's an absolute beast. Plus, the concept for this next chapter is on a completely new level. The locations we visited and action we documented are absolutely wild. Fans are going to be floored when they see the finished clip. I can say with full confidence that Gymkhana Four is going to be better than Gymkhana Three. And that is saying a lot, because I thought I would never be able to outdo GYM3."

Block is expected to bring the H.F.H.V. to Australia for the final leg in his Gymkhana world tour. He'll be performing his stunts at Melbourne's Calder Park on September 3.