Ken Block gets a whole lot of air during filming of Gymkhana Five in San Francisco. Photo / Supplied
Ken Block gets a whole lot of air during filming of Gymkhana Five in San Francisco. Photo / Supplied
Extreme driver Ken Block has taken on real streets for the first time in one of his legendary Gymkhana web videos.
The DC Shoes founder tears through the iconic streets of San Francisco with its distinctive neighbourhoods and steep winding streets - the backdrop for the famous car chase scenein the movie Bullit in Gymkhana Five a no-holds-barred attack on one of the world's most famous cities.
It was the first time that Block, who recently finished ninth in Rally New Zealand, has filmed one of his hugely popular web videos in its entirety on real roads. Major locations in the city of over 7.5 million were shut down specifically for the skate shoe magnate to show off his tricks - including the Financial District, the Bay Bridge (and the Bay itself, on a barge), Russian Hill and Twin Peaks.
"San Francisco was absolutely amazing for Gymkhana," said Block. "It's such a unique location for this kind of driving and allowed me to do some things that I never thought I'd ever be able to incorporate into one of my Gymkhana videos, like jumping a table top or doing a jump drift.
"I'm stoked with how this project turned out and I'm truly a lucky bastard to have been able to do the things I was able to do on the streets of San Francisco."
Block is driving the same Monster World Rally Team-prepped Ford Fiesta as in Gymkhana 4, with its 447kW, 890Nm two-litre engine capable of propelling the WRC car to 100km/h in a staggering 1.8 seconds.
His old extreme sports star mate Travis Pastrana even makes a cameo, pulling wheelstands on a motocross bike while Block does donuts around him.
