KEN Block has revealed his first ever rear-wheel-drive gymkhana car. It seems odd that it’s taken this long for the king of sideways cornering and burnouts to pilot a rear-driver, but all his previous cars have fried all four tyres. Block started with the Subaru WRX STi, then moved to various incarnations of the Ford Fiesta, and most recently the all-wheel-drive Mustang Hoonicorn.

The latest car is a 1978 Mk2 Ford Escort RS that’s been kitted out to wreck rubber. The car was actually the first Ford rally racer Block ever purchased back in 2008, and it had been set up for tarmac rallies. Rather than turn it into a gravel machine, Block’s Hoonigan team developed it into the ultimate gymkhana rear-driver.

Under the bonnet is an atmo 2.5-litre four-cylinder that buzzes all the way to 9000rpm and makes 333hp. The donk was built by Millington Engines in the UK, who have been playing with alloy versions of Ford’s BDA engine since the late 80s. Power is sent to the custom Fifteen52 rear wheels through a six-speed sequential race gearbox.

Hit play to see the thing smoking a set of tyres: