Ken Block’s 1,400bhp ‘Hoonipigasus’ Porsche set for Pikes Peak
Believe it or not, there’s a 912 somewhere in the make-up of the pink Porsche you see in these photographs. We’ll wager even the 917 which inspired the striking livery covering the once four-cylinder Porsche would be jealous of its current 1,400bhp power output, the result of a comprehensive reimagining of the car for rally and gymkhana star, Ken Block.
Ken Block reveals new 1400bhp Pikes Peak Hill Climb contender
Developed jointly by Mobil 1, Block’s Hoonigan enterprise and (chiefly) the Porsche tuning experts at BBi Autosport in Huntington Beach, California, the ‘Hoonipigasus’ has been created to enable Block to challenge for the overall win at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Block competed at the event — often referred to as The Race to the Clouds — in a Group N Subaru Impreza WRX STi back in 2005, but not for top honours. Now, with the heavily modified Porsche seen here, he aims to bag the most coveted title in North American sprint racing.
At the heart of the beast is a mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged, four-litre flat-six making use of a methanol injection system. Allied to an all-wheel drive chassis specifically built to suit Block’s driving style, the transmission tunnel is referred to by BBi Autosport as the ‘Hoonipigasus Chorizo Tunnel’, going from shoulder height down to the front axle, resulting in a lower center of gravity. Weighing just 1,000kg, the extraordinary machine features GPS-linked height-adjusted suspension configured in accordance with telemetry gathered at Pikes Peak, where the car will be competing in the Pikes Peak Open (PPO) class. Block hopes to add overall victory to BBi Autosport’s eight podiums and five class wins at the world-renowned motorsport event. “Pikes Peak Hill International Climb is one of the reasons I became a rally driver,” says Block, co-founder of DC Shoes. “The list of drivers who have raced and won this event includes many of my heroes, such as Walter Röhrl, Ari Vatanen, Michelle Mouton, Sebastien Loeb and Rod Millen. I’ve always wanted the chance to race Pikes Peak at the top level and compete for the overall win. With BBi Autosport creating this amazing Porsche, I’ve got a good shot!”
The car’s production was a decade in the making, beginning with BBi Autosport’s desire to build the ultimate historic Porsche race car. The company’s most recent success at Pikes Peak was in 2021, when the team entered a trio of cars in three different classes, taking home two class wins and a podium finish, a first in Pikes Peak history. For 2022, however, BBi Autosport is going all-in to take the overall win with Block behind the wheel of its eye-popping Porsche. “The Hoonipigasus is an absolute dreamcome- true build,” says Betim Berisha, founder of BBi Autosport. “From a technology, power, aero and visual standpoint, Porsches just don’t come any crazier. Our most talented engineers and designers threw out the rule book out and took an unconventional path to building what we consider the world’s nastiest 911.”
This year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is scheduled for Sunday 26th June and will mark the hundredth running of the event, which features a 12.42-mile course presenting 156 turns and an elevation gain of 4,725ft, rising to 14,115ft above sea level at the finish line. For a full list of entrants, visit ppihc.org.