Germany has signed up the Hoonigan for motorsport development role.

MIGHT the wild electric rally raid car Audi has just been testing in Morocco become a future ride for a world-famous skidmaster?

Ken Block, the American potentially better known for his ‘Hoonigan’ stunt driving escapades than his business savvy behind sports shoe and energy drink empires, has a solid background in rallying – from his first international escapade in the New Zealand championship with past national champion Sam Murray in 2007 through to becoming, briefly, a Ford works driver in World Rally Championship.

It’s that talent which has seen him now contracting to Audi, helping develop the next-generation of high-performance cars.

Ingolstadt says Block’s natural talent and "ability to inspire" are going to be useful in a programme and partnership whose exact nature has not been spelled out.

However, there’s widespread speculation he will be involved in vehicle testing, while also representing German brand in a promotional capacity.

A return to motorsport has not been ruled out – and, if that happens, then seat time in the make’s latest project, the electrified RS Q E-Tron off-roader would seem a natural progression.

Block has expressed intense interest in the car, which has just finished a two-week full-out test run in Morocco in preparation for its debut event, the 2022 Dakar Rally in January. 

In comment offered to Audi, Block says he is convinced electric mobility is the future. 

“I see the electric car as a leap forward for us as a society in order to create something that can not only reduce emissions and hopefully make the planet a better place. But not only that: It’s also about performance.

“I love anything that makes me go faster. Electric cars can do that. And as far as sound goes, I have kids who don’t care about that. They think that the sound of electric cars is just as cool as the sound of internal combustion engines.

“Audi is the brand that ignited my passion for motorsport. I am extremely excited to start this new chapter. Together, we will develop innovative projects and push the boundaries of electric mobility.”

Meantime, Audi says the RS Q e-tron’s test was under the most extreme conditions.

A follow up to testing in Germany and Spain, the run was the car’s first prolonged exposure to desert, the dunes and extreme heat.

Once again, all three driver crews confirmed for Dakar were involved. Dakar record winner Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz and Mattias Ekstrom took turns at the wheel of the highly complex prototype – respective co-drivers Edouard Boulanger, Lucas Cruz and Emil Bergkvist were with them.

Andreas Roos, responsible for factory motorsport projects at Audi Sport, said having the pairings in the car allowed for some fine tuning of their accommodation.

“For the test in Morocco, we made modifications so that the driver and co-driver have more space in the tight cockpit and can also communicate better with each other. The feedback was positive.”

Some of the conditions the test team encountered in Morocco were extreme.

“The thermometer climbed to well over 40 degrees Celsius at times,” said Sven Quandt, team principal of Q Motorsport.

“Sandstorms also hampered the testing. In addition, as expected, some new problems arose in the high temperatures, which repeatedly caused interruptions to the testing and needed to be solved before the next test.”

“We expect much lower temperatures at the Dakar Rally,” says Roos. “Nevertheless, we deliberately went to Morocco to test our concept under the most extreme conditions.

“Components such as the MGU, for example, were basically not developed for use in such high ambient temperatures, but the drivetrain and other components were also pushed to their limits or even beyond by the heat.

“The insights we gained in Morocco are invaluable, but they also show us that we still have a lot to do before the Dakar Rally and there is not much time left.” 

The high-voltage battery, which was developed specifically for the Dakar Rally, is also a major topic.

“It’s all about optimum temperature management and being able to call up the battery’s maximum performance,” says Roos. “

This is where we are learning with every test. And that’s exactly why we are going to the desert with an electrified drivetrain: We are gaining an incredible amount of experience that we are sharing with our colleagues from road car development.”