In safe hands

A multi-discipline motorsport champion, Mattias Ekström is the perfect person to put the Audi S1 Hoonitron through its paces as a tribute to his friend who was tragically killed at the start of the year.

20 March, 2023

One of the great racing drivers of the modern era, Mattias Ekström is constantly on the lookout for his next motorsport challenge. From winning the DTM Championship twice, to claiming the World Rallycross Championship, four Race of Champions crowns and his current campaign for Audi sort in the Dakar rally, his accomplishments put him in elite motorsport company.

Most recently though, Ekström was behind the wheel of a very special vehicle as a tribute to a fallen comrade, when he drove the Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron that was built especially for Ken Block by Audi Sport.

The unique all-electric S1 Hoonitron was inspired by Block’s favourite Audi of all time, the Audi Sport quattro S1 ‘Pikes Peak’ which so inspired the American rally and stunt driver in his early years.

Premiered in all its glory last year in Ken Block’s film Electrikhana, it sadly represented his last collaboration with Audi, after Block was tragically killed in an accident at the start of 2023.

Over the course of the time Block worked with Audi though, he came to drive many of the brand’s great racing vehicles from the past and formed a strong friendship with Mattias Ekström. So much so that he drove the Swede’s all-electric Dakar racer – the RS Q e-tron – and made the commitment that Mattias Ekström would likewise drive his S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron this year.

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