A year into driving the Ford Fiesta RS WRC after years spent sitting behind the wheel of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Ken Block is gearing up for the 2011 rally season by unveiling the 2011 Monster World Rally Team Ford Fiesta RS WRC armed with a year's worth of rally experience and, in the case of his refreshed ride, a host of freshly updated livery.

This year, the American rally driver will be competing in a number of rounds of the World Rally Championship as he continues his WRC development while getting his feet wet on racing on a car with a completely different chassis from what he's used to.

Apart from the WRC rounds Ken Block is scheduled to partake in, he and his new Monster Fiesta RS WRC will also be participating in a number of competitions, including the Summer X Games, the Gymhana GRID, as well as other RallyCar and RallyCross events in the US.

For a lot of us that have gotten used to Ken Block and his rally car wizardry, 2011 promises to be an exciting year for both the esteemed American driver and his legion of fans all over the world.

It also certainly doesn't hurt to know that he's going to be sitting behind the wheel of a pretty damn good rally car for the 2011 rally season.

Details after the jump

Exterior and Interior

Just like the Abu Dhabi World Rally Team's Fiesta RS WRC, Ken Block's version will also boast the same 'kinetic design' styling cues that have recently appeared in a number of Ford's new road vehicles.

On that end, the 2011 Ford Fiesta WRC will also come with rally-spec modifications, including new Macpherson struts on the front and rear suspension with external reservoir dampers. Then there's the set of special wheels that will be used for specific road conditions, including 7x15” aluminum wheels with 650 mm tires on gravel and snow-covered roads conditions and 8x18” wheels with 650 mm tires on asphalt roads. Complementing the wheels are Brembo ventilated brake discs with 4-piston monoblock calipers.

Performance

Ken Block's 2011 WRC ride will be powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that produces 490 horsepower at 8,000 RPM on 'open-class' specifications. But given WRC regulations requiring a turbo-inlet restrictor, the Monster WRT Fiesta will be producing an output of 'only' 330 horsepower.

Pricing

It's Ken Block's WRC rally car, which means that it's not going to be for sale. Yep, tough luck.

Competition

We've already touched on another WRC team - the Abu Dhabi World Rally Team - that will be using the same Ford Fiesta RS WRC, but in addition to that team, Block and Monster World Rally will also have their hands full against Sebastian Loeb and the Citroen Total World Rally Team, as well as former Formula One Driver's Champion Kimi Raikkonen and his Iceman 1 Racing Team. Not exactly a walk in the park, is it?