DC and Ken Block released the highly anticipated Gymkhana FOUR video where the production and concept are on a whole new level, surpassing all of the previous films in Block’s hit viral series, which have amassed over 110 million views to date. FLUX Mag also featured Ken Block in an awesome article in the current edition which can be viewed by clicking here (page 13).
This video, which was filmed at Universal Studios Hollywood, features robotic sharks, deranged zombies, stunt men in gorilla suits, and massive pyrotechnics to intense, 100-percent raw, flat-out driving and copious amounts of tire smoke, and Ken Block in his Ford Fiesta Hybrid Function Hoon Vehicle (H.F.H.V.). Filmed over the course of five days, iconic movie locations and backdrops provided real-world obstacles, which increased both the danger and difficulty of the course and tricks.
“With each Gymkhana film, we’ve raised the bar, making it tougher and tougher to outdo ourselves,” said Block. “So we opted to go over the top on FOUR with a big Hollywood production and Universal Studios provided the perfect place for it. The backlots provided real life obstacles, plus an extremely varied collection of settings all just minutes from each other. Without question, Gymkhana FOUR is the most ridiculous film we’ve done yet, but itʼs also packed with some of the hardest and most dangerous driving I have done in these films.”
Paying homage to iconic Hollywood movies, the video opens with Block and his H.F.H.V. blazing through the War of the Worlds set. He drifts past the famous clock tower from Back to the Future and screeches through Psychoʼs Bates Motel. Block and his H.F.H.V then proceed to rip through Whoville, coming face to face with Jaws. The video wraps with the perfect movie star ending and a surprise Bollywood tribute that could make Slumdog Millionaire pant.
Block and his team joined forces with famed director Ben Conrad and his production company LOGAN. Conrad utilized the most innovative technology in cameras, lighting and effects, including a revolutionary GoPro array camera setup that was custom fabricated to allow multiple GoPro cameras to be strung together to shoot footage in unison, creating a Matrix-style bullet time effect. Fellow YouTube sensations and friends, Epic Meal Time – ranked no. 14 on YouTubeʼs most subscribed to videos list-also make a hilarious cameo in the video.
Blockʼs new 2011 Ford Fiesta H.F.H.V is a unique race car built by the Monster World Rally Team to be transformed for Block to compete in Stage Rally, Rallycross and Gymkhana. For this film, the H.F.H.V. was putting down 600hp and 665lb-ft of torque through a custom 6-speed sequential gearbox thatʼs mated to a mechanical all-wheel-drive system. At only 2,755 lbs, the H.F.H.V. does the sprint from zero to 60 in an astonishing 1.9 seconds, giving McFly’s DeLorean a serious run for its money to 88 mph.
