Behind the scenes of the filming of US drift star Ken Block in Las Vegas
Facts and figures: How the S1 Hoonitron was developed
The new Electrikhana film featuring the Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron and Ken Block has already been viewed more than four and a half million times in just three weeks. The comments are the proof: The S1 Hoonitron inspires. Visually, it is modelled on the legendary Audi Sport quattro S1, while technically it combines the highlights of Audi’s electric drivetrains from large-scale production and motorsport.
Less than eight months after the start of the project, the Audi S1 Hoonitron had to be ready for the first test drives and the filming with Ken Block and his team – an ambitious task for the Audi Sport team in Neckarsulm and the Audi Design team. The result is more than impressive: since the release of the Electrikhana film three weeks ago, millions of people have been following the S1 Hoonitron drifting through the streets, casinos and parking garages of Las Vegas with Ken Block at the wheel.
Well balanced – weight distribution and dimensions
The weight distribution between the front and rear axles is almost equal at 52:48.
The wheelbase is less than 2.4 meters, which is considerably less than the 2,563 millimeters of an Audi A1 Sportback, Audi’s entry-level model, for example. This increases agility when cornering, because the short wheelbase favors yaw moments, i.e. rotating around the vertical axis, which is very desirable in Electrikhana stunts.
The suspension with McPherson struts on the front and rear axles and more than 200 millimeters of spring travel is designed for the extreme demands up to and including jumping crests.
With this basic concept, the Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron has the ideal characteristics for drifting and for stunts on different terrains.
Electric powerhouse – double source of pleasure
The all-wheel drivetrain of the Audi S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron is fully electric. The front and rear axles are each powered by a motor-generator unit (MGU), which comes from motorsport.
Each of these two units only weighs 55 kilograms, including the transmission.
Four high-voltage batteries from a standard Audi PHEV model, each with a capacity of 14.4 kWh, totaling 57.6 kWh, supply the drivetrain system and operate at 800 volts.
Perfect athlete – plenty of torque and power
The electric power distribution between the front and rear axles is fully variable. It can be perfectly adapted to the driver’s wishes and can precisely influence the self-steering behavior.
Each MGU develops 250 kW of power and 320 Nm of torque. This results in a total output of 500 kW and 640 Nm of torque.
Since the electric motors reach maximum speeds of 28,000 rpm, the engineering team defined a gear ratio of about 12:1 for the drifts. Taking losses into account, this results in around 3,000 Nm of torque on each axle, or 6,000 Nm in total.
Thanks to these extreme torque figures, it is possible for Ken Block to pull off spectacular drifts and achieve a wheel speed of more than 200 km/h.
In Audi’s long motorsport history, the combination of these features in conjunction with the special purpose is unique.
