We've got a real treat for you this month, a legit no-frills interview with Ken Block and everything involving the video, the crazy STI and even a ride-along impression from our tech editor, Jay Chen, who was lucky enough to experience it firsthand. During the interview, we were tempted to ask him some off-the-wall questions like what cereal he ate in the morning, but we thought we'd leave that to the other magazines that don't care much about automobiles-and we're sure there will be plenty of them.
At the time of me writing this, the Gymkhana TWO video is just a little more than three weeks old and has already garnered plenty of attention and lots of opinions. Of course, the most prominent topic is how it compares to the first video. There's so much talk about how the first one was so pure and better than the first. However, I'm not so sure about that. I don't think it's fair to compare the two. Mainly, because the first video was something that was never done before; its wow factor came not only from the insane driving but also the mass audience that had never seen a car slide (and billow smoke) around the way it did. The shock and awe it created was astounding and impressed even those who think cars are a mere mode of transportation.
With the second video, all of a sudden people had a general idea of what they could expect and a bit of the shock and awe factor was therefore gone. But to say the stunts or driving was better in the first video is a simple matter of opinion. To me, what Ken pulls off in the second video is ungodly. The driving is even more technical and incredibly precise. Not to mention the fact that he was able to get within inches of the dock or drift through those cones with such precision is more impressive to me than the segway scene that awed everyone in the first video. Hell, the outtake at the end of the video where the STI knocks the paint ball out of Jason Ellis' hand is insane. I can't imagine the skill it takes to perfect an AWD slide to the point where you can do it over and over and have the confidence to hurl a 3,000-lb machine within inches of your friend and not take off his arm in the process.
I hope you enjoy the article and the stunning images along with it. As always, I'd love to get your feedback on it and anything else you think could improve Modified.
Send your feedback to peter@modified.com