By now you all (should) know who Ken Block is and what he does for a living, so we’re going to cut the blabber and get straight to the point: he’ll be hooning an all-electric Ford Fiesta prepared by STARD in the Projekt E racing series. Now let’s explain what’s what.

A new electric-centric motorsport wing is born

Back in 2017, Austria’s STARD introduced the Fiesta ERX, an all-electric rally car fitted with a fully-bespoke powertrain. The ERX is based on the Mk8 Fiesta ST but it ditches the ICE for three electric motors that deliver a combined output of 450 kilowatts (603 horsepower) and 1002 Newton-meters (740 pound-feet) of torque.

These resources are routed to the asphalt through a four-wheel-drive setup and two gearboxes (one on each axle) that allow the ERX to zap from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 1.8 seconds. This sort of performance doesn’t come cheap, and the €374,000 price tag reflects that.

Great news from our technical partner STARD this week, FIA crash tests and inspections all passed. Another landmark step on the way to the first all-electric rallycross championship.#ProjektE #ProjektEseries #electRX #WorldRX pic.twitter.com/oTvUXTIswV

— Projekt E (@projekteseries) July 24, 2020

Now, coming back to newer info, it’s been tweeted by the FIA WRC account that Ken Block will actually drive one such car in the upcoming Projekt E series. What’s Projekt E?

We don’t know a lot about what extra mods were brought to the Fiesta ERX, but we can tell you that it will flaunt a Hoonigan race livery typical for mister Block’s past toys, with Ford, Monster Energy, and some other sponsors’ logos scattered around the body kit. Oh, and if you’re curious what the ERX can pull off when pushed hard, here’s a video of Tiff Needell driving it.

As for the future of electric racing, as things stand right now, it’s looking bright. Formula E is on an upwards popularity trend and the sport’s association with big-name drivers such as Ken Block (who also has a huge online fan base) will only mean better visibility across the world and a potential jolt for other such initiatives to spruce up.

FAQ

Q: What’s Projekt E?

A FIA-sanctioned support category for the World Rallycross Championship. Think of it as the EV variant of WRC, basically.