Ken Block’s Climbkhana: Pikes Peak (Video)

In Ken Block’s Climbkhana video, he takes on Pikes Peak with a breathtaking display of skill, precision, and tire smoke.

It’s been a year since the announcement that Ken Block would make his next video at the home of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Now the wait is over, and “Ken Block’s Climbkhana: Pikes Peak” is finally here, and it’s packed full of all the lunatic hoonery we expect.

The internet will argue about Block when it comes down to his ability to race. However, when you see him hang a rear tire off the road so it’s spitting gravel down the side of the mountain, there’s no debate about his skill as a precision driver.

The car he’s driving is a twin-turbo, meth-injected, 6.7-liter, V8-powered 1965 Mustang notchback that’s making 1,400 horsepower. It’s a car so powerful Block himself describes it as being a bit frightening to drive. However, it’s not just for show. The extra power is necessary to compensate for the low-density air encountered at Pikes Peak’s 14,000-foot elevation.

It’s not just all about hanging on the cliff edge, either. There’s the requisite handbrake turns, donuts, and big motorized hazards for Block to play with. We’re also pretty sure there’s a deliberate reference to Ari Vatanen’s Climb Dance video.

“I have raced at Pikes Peak for 16 years, and through the years I thought I had seen everything, but to witness Ken’s skills on basically my home mountain, and to direct him at the same time, it was truly something amazing.”

Block certainly wasn’t trying to make a record time, but we know he respects the legends. He even had one on his team. Eight-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Champion, Jeff Zwart, is a co-director of Climbkhana. “I have raced at Pikes Peak for 16 years and through the years I thought I had seen everything, but to witness Ken’s skills on basically my home mountain and get to direct him at the same time, it was truly something amazing,” Zwart said.

We know Block has buckets of driving skill. We also know he has a team that can build and tune incredible cars. But it begs the question: What kind of time could Ken Block actually set on Pikes Peak?

Ian Wright

Ian Wright has been a professional writer for two years and is a regular contributor to Corvette Forum, Jaguar Forum, and 6SpeedOnline, among other auto sites.

His obsession with cars started young and has left him stranded miles off-road in Land Rovers, being lost far from home in hot hatches, going sideways in rallycross cars, being propelled forward in supercars and, more sensibly, standing in fields staring at classic cars. His first job was as a mechanic and then trained as a driving instructor before going into media production.

The automotive itch never left though, and he realized writing about cars is his true calling. However, that doesn’t stop him from also hosting the Both Hand Drive podcast.

Ian can be reached at bothhanddrive@gmail.com