Gymkhana has taken Ken Block and his friends to some strange places — France, England and Buffalo, New York, to name a few. Over the past decade, and corresponding 10 videos, Block’s series has evolved naturally, but explosively, with each video trying to outdo its predecessor with more jumps, crazier cars, more exotic locations and sharper driving.
Looking back at "Gymkhana Nine: Raw Industrial Playground," it’s obvious Block and the Hoonigan team would have to go beyond the scope of a normal Gymkhana video to get close to the level of one-upmanship required in a successive Gymkhana video. And it does.
The new video is part of an eight-episode Amazon Prime series that documents not only the creation of the video but also gives insights into the life of its star. In the series, which ultimately crescendos with an early release of "Gymkhana 10," we get to see Block’s struggles with his World Rallycross team, the problems his work ethic has on his home life and the frustration that is often missed in his highly polished viral driving epics.
The video is split over five filming locations: Sweden, Mexico, Detroit, Los Angeles and a section of Route 66 that runs through Shamrock, Texas. Since the video is spanning the globe, it might not be a shock that each locale gets its own car. The usual suspects are here — Block’s Hoonicorn thrashes around Detroit, his Ford Focus RS RX drifts through Mexico and a WRC-spec Fiesta hoons in Sweden. There are two new additions to the Gymkhana roster: the Hoonitruck, a 1977 Ford F-150 powered by a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, and a 1991 Ford Cosworth RS. Yes, that Cosworth.
This is the longest of the Gymkhanas, with over 17 minutes of insane stunt driving and tire decimation. It’s also packed with celebrity — and possible future celebrity — guests like Rob Dyrdek, Aaron Kaufman and a 16-year-old Oliver Solberg (the son of Rally legend Petter Solberg). In standard Gymkhana fashion, these celebrity cameos come off as subtle and comical instead of heavy-handed and forced.
The driving is some of Block’s best, with his car control looking better than ever. Obviously, the choice cuts of multiple takes were used from the filming sessions (as shown in the Amazon Prime series), but even the outtakes that weren’t used show that Block can still throw down behind the wheel. The jumps were milder than, say, Block’s trip to San Francisco earlier in his career, but were made up for with volume.
Without spoiling too much, it’s safe to say that the only problem I had with "Gym 10" was the looming bittersweet feeling felt throughout the video. Watching the Amazon Prime series only made that more apparent, as the Hoonigan crew openly talked about how much these videos have been a part of their lives over the past decade. This is the grand finale. Kind of.
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