2022 Porsche 911 SVRSR “Hoonipigasus” #43
Pilot: K. Block
Team: Hoonigan Racing Division
Race: DNS (PPO class) at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2022
Spark - S7789 (resin)
Published 04/04/25
Born on November 21, 1967, Kenneth Paul Block began his motorsports career in 2005. By 2007, he was racing in the WRC. Concurrently, he was co-founder of DC Shoes and formed the Monster Rally Team, later renamed as Hoonigan Racing Division. However, what made Ken Block world-wide famous were his “Gymkhana” videos. In the 10 videos, Block does absurd stunts driving a Ford (though the first two were with Subarus). To withstand the absurd punishment the stunts entailed, his cars were always heavily modified. Though he mostly used a Ford Fiesta, perhaps his best-known car is the Hoonicorn. The car started out as a 1965 Mustang, however Hoonigan transformed it into a 1030 kW (1400 hp) / 1695 Nm behemoth. The videos were always masterfully produced, and later on he also did some special editions. Like going up Tianmen Mountain onboard a F-150 (“Hoonitruck”).
The Pikes Peak Hill Climb (“The Race to the Clouds”), officially began in 1916. Located in Colorado, Pikes Peak is the highest summit in the southern part of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The track is 19.99 km long, with over 156 turns with an elevation gain of 1440 m. With a convoluted layout and the huge increase in altitude, the event is very demanding to both pilots and machines. After World War II the race steadily gained popularity, and nowadays it’s the world’s most famous hill climb race. In 2005, when Ken Block started rallying, he attempted the climb, with a Group N rally car (Subaru WRX STI). In 2017 he went back to Pikes Peak – though not for the race, but for one of his videos. That was when he made “Ken Block’s Climbkhana: Pikes Peak” (where he drove the Hoonicorn V2).
While Climbkhana is uber cool (going up the mountain sideways), it was not the race. For Ken Block, Pikes Peak was one of the major influences for him to start racing. That being so, he always wanted to do the official race, competing in the Pikes Peak Open (Unlimited) class. As luck would have it, BBi Autosport had a successful race in 2021. And for 2022, they had the idea of building a radical Porsche to win Pikes Peak in the PPO class. So, they asked Block if he would drive the car and if the Hoonigan team would help build it. Together with engineer Joe Scarbo and artist Trevor “Trouble” Andrew, they came up with the Hoonipigasus. In a nutshell, the Hoonipigasus is a 1030 kW (1400 hp) twin-turbo all-wheel drive 911 beast. And to make it even cooler, the livery is a homage to the Pink Pig.
BBi bought a junk chassis and body of a 911 to use as the mold. They then built a spatial tube-frame chassis and installed a 4.0 2016 GT3-R flat-6 in front of the rear axle. With the gearbox behind the engine! BBi absurdly modified the engine, and with two (huge!) Garrett turbochargers and drinking methanol, it delivered around 1030 kW. Obviously, the body is all carbon fiber, built in Sweden. Yet, as impressive as the drivetrain sounds, probably the real marvel is the aerodynamics. Since the air density up the mountain is 40% less, they had to go to extremes to generate enough downforce and cooling. Therefore, the car has a multitude of canards, a HUMONGOUS rear wing, huge front and rear splitters, etc. That translates to 1820 kg (!) of downforce at 256 km/h at sea level. Up the mountain though, that’s way less. Yep, Pikes Peak ain’t simple…
So, without a doubt, the Hoonipigasus is a marvel of engineering. Absurdly advanced, yet absolutely bonkers. Something only a bunch of crazy gear-heads would try to do. And they did it in six months! The 100th Running of the “Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb“ (official name) would be on June 26. The work on the project began at the end of December 2021 😳. Though the build evolved astonishingly smoothly, they didn’t have much time for testing. They arrived at Pikes Peak and the car breezed through scrutineering, and Block took it for a test run. He went up the mountain once and when he got back down, there was bad news. The engine blew a piston, damaging the cylinder and head and destroying a turbo. With only hours to the race, there was nothing the team could do. The Hoonipigasus did not race.
The really sad thing about this story is that Ken Block died not even six months later 😥. He never fulfilled his dream of winning at Pikes Peak. The following year, his daughter Lia Block drove the Hoonipigasus up the mountain as tribute to her father. Though this is ultimately a sad story, it’s still a story of triumph. Very probably the Hoonipigasus was the last purpose-built ICE car to race Pikes Peak. At altitude, an electric engine has a MUCH better performance, so nowadays there’s no point in even thinking about an ICE. And never (ever!) would a big manufacturer do something like the Hoonipigasus “just for fun”. Therefore, the Hoonipigasus was the last of its kind. Fortunately for me, Spark makes a fantastic replica of the car – 100% awesome. The model is absolutely smashing, and looks just beautiful in the W-143 Garage 🤩.