Ken Block cars that defined an era of motorsport gathered in one room: Behind the scenes

Nine of Ken Block's cars have been displayed together to form The People's Champ exhibition to celebrate the impact that the rally legend had on the automotive and motorsport world.

Displayed at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, the exhibition was the first time that all nine cars had been displayed together. Former Hoonigan senior vice-president Ron Zaras, who worked with Block on the making of his legendary Gymkhana videos, has shared a tour of the exhibition and the cars featured in it on the Block House Racing YouTube channel for those who missed seeing it in person.

The nine cars included in The People's Champ exhibition

• 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi (featured in Gymkhana Two)
• 1986 Ford RS200 Evolution
• 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STi (featured in Gymkhana: Practice)
• 2016 Ford Focus RS RX
• 2022 Porsche 911 SVRSR "Hoonipigasus"
• 1977 Ford F-150 "Hoonitruck"
• 1986 Audi Sport Quattro Replica "Turbo Monster"
• 2022 Audi S1 E-Tron Quattro "Hoonitron"
• 1994 Ford Escort RS Cosworth "Cossie V2"

"So this section, right when you walk in, we have the iconic Gymkhana 2 Subaru," Zaras said. "And right next to it, we have the Audi from Electrikhana, the S1 Quattro. Now, we really like these two cars together because it kind of shows the evolution of where Gymkhana went.

"[The 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi ] at the end of the day, yes, it's got a livery, yes, it's got a bunch of power, but really it's a streetcar. It started life as a streetcar. And the videos that we made with it were still pretty simple.

"With the Hoonitron that was built by Audi Sport in Germany, taking Formula E engineers, Dakar engineers, the highest level of engineering to build a car for tyre smoking on YouTube. It's a wild thing to see in such a short amount of time that progression."

He added about the exhibition as a whole: "So, we have all these cars, but you can't just throw them willy-nilly into an exhibit like this. We had to have a concept. So, the idea was we wanted to replicate what it was like to be inside the Hoonigan Racing Division headquarters yourself.

"Of course, that means a shipping container. So, we did the shipping container tribute as a centrepiece. Now, I say tribute because an actual international standard shipping container is around 5000 lb. Getting that in through these doorways up an elevator onto a platform, not easy, especially all the fab work it would take to make it look like this. So, believe it or not, this is not a real shipping container. This is wood, plastic, screws, and nails, and made to be collapsible to transport anywhere else to future shows.

"The other fun fact about that is it was built by Matthew Holt. If you watch the Gymkhana files, you'll know who Matt is. He's the guy with the heart-shaped sunglasses. He built so many sets for us on the Gymkhana films, and he really stepped it up for us here when we were making the exhibit, and he created this in one month's time or less.

"This is the 'Ain't Care Wall', which we have pulled directly from the office. As you see it here, all these parts zip-tied on. This is how they lived when we built that in 2013. Every single piece tells a story from the history of Ken breaking parts, going flat out, living that ain't care ethos."

Ken Block

Block began his national rallying career in 2005 in a Subaru Impreza WRX STi, featured in the exhibition, and went on to compete in other series including World Rallycross Championship, ERX Supercar Championship, Global RallyCross Championship, Rally America and the World Rally Championship.

In addition to his rally career, he co-founded DC Shoes in 1994 and later sold his share in the company to focus his efforts on Hoonigan Industries. He also produced the Gymkhana video series, which has drawn millions of views on YouTube. His former rallying team-mate Travis Pastrana has continued the stunt videos following Block's death.

Block died on 2 January 2023 in a snowmobile accident near his home in Utah.