The awesome Goodwood Festival of Speed is upon us, when and where some of the raddest vehicles ever to have been melded together rock up in a corner of southern England’s green and pleasant land/posh lawns to entertain the automotively-inspired masses.
Who assemble in droves this time every year to spectate some pretty serious motorsport-themed action.
2023's running is extra special for fans of the four rings, as well of those with a passion for all things EV. The two elements fusing together never more 'animatedly' than in the guise of the Audi S1 e-tron Quattro ‘Hoonitron’.
The Hooni-what?
This epic 1400bhp ‘machine’ represents Audi’s headline act at the festival of absolute noise, where it will line up alongside the UK-debuting Dakar desert-racing RS Q e-tron, a trio of Le Mans 24 hours icons (the R8, R10 and R18), an original 1989 Rally Portugal special trials Quattro Gr. 4 car and a Group A WRC Audi 200 Quattro Rally Safari example.
However, all eyes will be firmly focused on the ‘Hoonitron’ when this unique and guaranteed crowd-pleasing vehicle takes to the legendary Goodwood hill climb.
A strip of naturally-occurring track which welcomes careful drivers of extremely rapid-fire cars of every denomination, for the duration of the most hotly-contested automotive shoot-out the annual Goodwood get-together hosts.
New Kid On the Block…
Of course, it’s with an enormous sense of sadness that one of the Hoonitron’s pivotal architects won’t be putting what is, ostensibly, HIS car through its paces at Goodwood this weekend.
The Hoonitron was constructed with one driver in mind.
That driver being the incredible Ken Block, who as we all know, tragically passed away earlier this year.
Consummate rally, stunt and drift driver extraordinaire, Block was renowned for making cars bend in ways which deceived the eye, logic and gravity. And the Hoonitron was designed, developed (and would have evolved still further) under the stewardship of the late, great Ken Block if things had been different.
Instead, the racer found behind the wheel of the S1 e-tron Quattro is none other than Le Mans guru and Audi ambassador, Tom Kristensen. Himself, an extremely talented wheelsmith.
Tell Us More About The ‘Hoonitron’...
This unique electric-propelled race/drift car’s DNA is firmly entrenched in the 1980’s.
Where many good things in life emanate.
And is unashamedly influenced by - and taking many of its fundamental design pointers from - the Audi Quattro UR coupe.
A car which took a stranglehold of the World Rally Championships for successive years, and singlehandedly reinvented the motorsport wheel.
The legacy of which is still observed in contemporary Audi’s, not least in the Quattro four-wheel-drive set-up which endures to this very day.
Exciting EV Times Ahead For Ingolstadt
As to the modern day incarnation, the S1 e-tron Quattro came to fruition at Audi Sport’s headquarters in the German town of Neckarsulm.
The design team on the project was headed up by Marc Lichte.
A name familiar to anyone following with intense interest the journey of Audi’s quartet of 'Sphere' concept vehicles. Namely the hugely exciting Grandsphere, Urbansphere, Activesphere and Skysphere.
In terms of the car itself, and under the skin of the Audi S1 e-tron Quattro you’ll find a carbonfibre chassis powered by two motor-generator units; one located on each axle.
The engineering team defined a gear ratio of about 12:1 as the electric motors reach a maximum force of some 28,000rpms. Effectively enabling high-speed/octane drifts.
For those of you who crave tech data, this translates as in the ballpark region of 3,000 Nm of torque, distributed to each axle. Or a staggering 6,000 Nm in total.
Say Hello
So there you have it.
Get yourself down to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend (13th - 16th July at Goodwood House in West Sussex) if you’re wanting to witness the Hoonitron decimate the competition in the famous hill climb event, along with a whole host of other motorsport spectacles.
In the meantime, should your need for speed and thrills be temporarily suspended by the advent of a timely service schedule on your Audi.
Or if your vehicles requires diagnostics carried out.
Or even an MOT.
Then here at WCC Neston, our talented tech team can perform for you.
And don't forget. We undertake all types of EV work too.
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