How do you compare a 197-horsepower Ford Fiesta with an 1,100-hp Trophy Truck? Ken Block found a way.
For a recent video, Block and his crew brought together an unusual mix of race cars, and set up a simple dirt course to compare them. The contestants included the aforementioned Fiesta and Trophy Truck, as well as Block's Subaru WRX STI and Ford Escort RS Cosworth rally cars.
To keep things competitive, Block set up a short race course designed to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each vehicle. Three different drivers accelerate down a straightaway, turn around, blast back down the straightaway, and brake to a stop within a defined box.
Ken Block's Subaru WRX STI rally car
Predicting a winner wasn't as simple as it might seem. For example, the Trophy Truck had by far the most power, but was also the heaviest, giving it a disadvantage in turning and braking, Block noted. The big truck also seemed to have trouble getting around the course's tight hairpin.
Sure enough, the Trophy Truck finished third, ahead of only the Fiesta. Block drove it as well as the 330-hp WRX STI, which won the shootout. The 1990s Ford Escort RS Cosworth V2 took second with Baja racer Jax Redline at the wheel. Block's wife Lucy drove the turbo-3-powered Fiesta to a fourth-place finish. The car obviously suffered from a lack of traction, both because of its build and pouring rain, and a lack of power.
Block unveiled the Subaru earlier this year, along with plans to race it in six rounds of the American Rally Association (ARA) championship. This is the first time Block has raced a Subaru since 2009, before a switch to Ford. Block ended his exclusive partnership with the Blue Oval at the beginning of 2021, allowing him to sample the wares of other automakers. In addition to the STI, he's also tested out a Skoda rally car.
