It was only a matter of time before Ken Block appeared behind the wheel of an all-electric race car. While he did a brief promotional film for the Ford Mustang Mach-E—featuring damned near zero hooning—the rally legend has never gotten to fully send it in an EV. But now, Extreme E put him behind the wheel of its Odyssey 21 off-road racer in the Saudi Arabian desert.
That’s because, for 2020, the famed Dakar Rally happened in Saudi Arabia. Block, in his electric monster truck, was doing an exhibition run for the last stage. His newest video features him practicing (read: drifting in circles) and participating in part of the world’s most grueling rally.
The car’s built for the task. The Odyssey 21 produces around 550 horsepower and over 700 lb-ft of torque, has a lightweight frame, and weighs just 3000 pounds. That may not sound incredibly light, but consider that it’s lugging a gigantic battery back around and comes fully kitted out with off-road tires, long-travel suspension, and skid plates all around.
Unsurprisingly, the car performed well. Block spoke highly of the Odyssey 21’s instant torque, noting that it made setting up slides much easier than in a laggier turbocharged car. And the car’s also fast, recording a time that would have put it in third place for the stage had it officially entered.
That time isn’t without caveats, though. Block notes that he didn’t have a co-driver and got slightly lost, which hurt his time. He also addresses the fact that he didn’t have to lug extra tires around like every other car, saving him weight and improving his time. But the biggest thing he didn’t mention is that the Dakar is an endurance race; jumping in for the last leg alone means the times aren’t really comparable. Even still, this bit of electric powersliding gives me high hopes for a future Gymkhan-e drift video.
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