Gymkhana is sort of a cross between rally-car racing and drifting, on tracks that feature absurdly tight corners and require lots of sideways driving. Block, co-founder of DC Shoes and a rally-racing star, refers to his brand of driving for the series as "Gymkhana on steroids."
In "Gymkhana FOUR," Block can be seen drifting past the famous clock tower from "Back to the Future," and screeching through "Psycho's" Bates Motel; through Whoville and past the giant shark in "Jaws." The production, directed by Ben Conrad, required five days of filming. The pyrotechnics and other special effects complement Block's incredible driving skills.
"With each Gymkhana film, we've raised the bar, making it tougher and tougher to outdo ourselves," Block said. "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 back lots provided real-life obstacles, plus an extremely varied collection of settings all just minutes from each other. Gymkhana FOUR is the most ridiculous film we've done yet, but it's also packed with some of the hardest and most dangerous driving I have done in these films."
Block drove a 2011 Ford Fiesta that boasts 600 horsepower and 665 feet of torque, with a six-speed transmission connected to an all-wheel-drive system. It covered zero to 60 mph in a remarkable 1.9 seconds.
Now that "Gymkhana FOUR" is complete, however, the car will be transformed for use in Stage Rally, Rallycross and Gymkhana competitions. After what Block just went through, those competitions may seem boring by comparison.
You can watch the full version of "Gymkhana FOUR" at DCshoes.com by clicking here.
