After the outright-bats San Francisco and Los Angeles installments of Ken Block?s Gymkhana series, other entries have seemed as if Block is just marking time until the next truly cohesive clip idea pops into his tire-smoke-addled mind. SF and LA worked especially well, in part, because they?re backdrops known to the gearhead fraternity via appearances in memorable cinematic automotive sequences. And what, we ask, is more memorable than Ari Vatanen?s assault on Pikes Peak in Climb Dance" Welcome now, you Monster-swilling hordes, Climbkhana.

Back in 1988, Vatanen made the trip up the mountain in a 600-hp, mid-engined Peugeot 405 T16. Block, ever the showman, has brought back the fan-favorite Hoonicorn 1965 Mustang, now with a couple of hair dryers bolted to its methanol-sucking V-8 for a total of 1400 aggro horses. Hoonigan’s main man claims that it?s the most frightening thing he?s driven. And Pikes Peak itself is a rather terrifying road. Beyond the lack of guardrails, temps near the top of the hill can suck heat out of one?s tires?though we doubt this was be much of a problem for Block in the Hoonicorn, as four-wheel burnouts at any speed seem to be the car?s raison d’être. The Mustang’s predilection for turning tires into particulate makes it perfect for a film like this, as the paving of Pikes Peak means that the picturesque rooster tails of dust from Vatanen’s day are lost to the mists of history.
Gymkhana 9: Another Ken Block Video...