Video: how Ken Block’s Climbkhana was made

Pikes Peak is a gnarly place. With terrifying drop-offs and dynamic weather conditions that even Forza can’t replicate, the 12.42-mile, 156-turn, 4,720-foot ascent to the clouds is dangerous enough in a hire car while keeping to the speed limits. But adding a 1,400bhp twin-turbo methanol monster and the pressure of impressing the picky internet audience? Multiply that equation to the power of ten.

You may remember that a few weeks ago Ken Block and his Hoonigan crew released footage of their time at America’s mountain. Which, as you’d probably expect, contained some donuts and dare-devil drifts courtesy of his deranged Hoonicorn Mustang V2. 

But what you didn’t see in the ten-minute edit of awesome, was the stress involved in making the thing. It included three re-shoots, changeable weather and engines detonating. Not ideal when you’re on a tight time schedule.

See, between the start and finish there’s a 4720-foot elevation gain and a colossal drop in air pressure, which causes complicated headaches for fuelling setups, especially when you’re running on meth. As Ken and his crew found out, this cocktail of big power, little air and exotic fuels can end in a big ka-boom quite quickly. Derailing the whole operation.

Luckily, among the bazillion cameras used to shoot the film, a few were earmarked to shoot behind the scenes. So, click above to see footage from the literally dizzying heights of Pikes Peak and how much effort and sleepless nights go into these amazing films.