If there had been awards handed out to the preeminent forces in online automotive video over the past few years, surely Top Gear and rallyist Ken Block would have been shortlisted for the honor. Naturally, you'd expect that pairing the two Internet institutions would result in an amazing bit of film... and you'd be entirely correct.

What follows in the video posted after the jump is 6 minutes and 45 seconds of gobsmacking automotive artistry and top-flight production, with Block's 380-horsepower Subaru WRX STI drilling in and around an airport in California with a bug-eyed James May cinched into the passenger seat. Did we mention the appearance of Ricky Carmichael, perhaps the winningest motocross racer of all time? Click through the jump to witness the gorgeously controlled display of mechanical mayhem. Hat tip to absolutely everybody!

[Source: Top Gear via YouTube]

Season 13 of Top Gear is right around the bend, and in addition to an epic competition involving a steam engine, a head-to-head-to-head-to-head drag race with airport vehicles and tests of the Mercedes SL Black, Audi R8 V10, Focus RS, Megane R26.R, BMW Z4 and a face-off between the Jaguar XFR and BMW M5, James May apparently made the trek across the pond to sample Ken Block's Subaru-sliding skills. The combination of Block's driving, an empty runway and Top Gear's often imitated but never duplicated cinematic abilities should make for some stellar TV when the show airs this Sunday. If you've got access to the Beeb, set your DVRs to record or wait for the torrents to hit later that night. In the meantime, we've posted Block's Gymkhama 2 video after the break to whet your appetite.



[Source: Top Gear]

When it comes to driving deity Ken Block, words fail. So we'll keep this brief. Make the jump for the full video of Gymkhana Two, the sequel to Block's highly successful Gymkhana Practice flick from last year. We don't want to spoil the surprises, but the new car control epic is rife with original stunts, mythical feats and more sideways, tire-smoking action than ever before. We've also posted two more videos after the break, including footage from the premiere party we attended last week and a short audio clip that puts you next to Block as he does a few donuts in his Crawford-prepped STI around the sound man. It's stellar stuff and it's all available below the fold.

Ken Block, co-founder of DC Shoes and extreme sports junkie, has only been driving rally cars for a few short years, but is already one of the most recognizable and successful drivers in the Rally America series. He was named rookie of the year in 2005, and won five rallies in the 2008 season. Much of Block's fame, however is due to what he's done with his Subaru rally car off the course, including jumping it 171 feet for Discovery Channel's Stunt Junkies and launching it off a snow-covered mountain for the cover of Snowboarder magazine. Most recently, Block became a YouTube sensation with the Gymkhana Practice video with millions witnessing his impressive car control on the El Toro airfield.

The first Gymkhana (pronounced jim-kah-nuh) video was such a success that Block decided to do a sequel in a new location and with an all-new car. The video will officially launch on DC Shoes' web site on June 1, but we were lucky enough to get a sneak preview yesterday at an exclusive press event at the Port of Los Angeles where Gymkhana Two was filmed. Block was on hand to give out rides in the his WRX STI custom built by Crawford Performance just for the video, and needless to say, there was plenty of tire smoke and passengers grinning from ear to ear. While you'll have to wait just a few more days for the video, we took a slew of photos at the preview for your viewing enjoyment and we've posted a video after the break detailing the build of Block's new STI.



Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Autocross enthusiasts claim their form of motorsport is the most challenging in all of auto-dom. But chasing pylons around a parking lot is nothing compared to Gymkhana. Sometimes referred to as the "car rodeo", Gymkhana is practiced (in the same way that a marshall art is "practiced") in Japan, the UK, South Africa and right here in the good ol' U.S. of A. The idea is essentially the same as autocross, but with some drifting, turn-on-a-dime pivots and J-turns thrown in for good measure. It's what Subaru Rally Team USA driver and DC Shoes co-founder Ken Block, the new name behind the Dirt video game franchise, uses to keep sharp in between rally stages.

The car Block currently uses is a fire-breathing monster. Starting life as a previous-generation Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Block's Gymkhana car was originally prepared for the 2005 Gumball 3000 with 426 horsepower and adjustable suspension, then retuned for One Lap of America 2006 before being thoroughly revamped, complete with 529 hp Crawford rally engine, for rodeo duty in 2007. But for this year's circuit, Ken's got his crew working on an all-new beast. We'll have to wait until June 1 for all the details, but to keep out appetites whet, DC has released a teaser video, which we've posted for you after the jump. Thanks to Khanh for the tip!

Sebastien Loeb went to Argentina and did some dancing that wasn't the tango. The WRC champion performed a demonstration with his Citroen rally car that was reminiscent of gymkhana. Although it's a little repetitive and nowhere near as mind-blowing as this other guy's gymkhana session, it is clear that Seb knows his way around the barriers and over the jumps. Follow the jump to check out the vid.

[Source: 0-60 magazine]

Ken Block solidified his place in the automotive master-race last November when he released his Gymkhana practice video onto an unsuspecting internet. 15 million views later, Block has created a dedicated microsite for the video and released some B-roll footage to show what went into his epic run. Both vids are posted below the fold and include several scenes left on the cutting room floor, along with a few painful interventions between his Subaru, a wall, a barrier and one incredibly trusting Segway pilot. Naturally, he's planning a sequel and you can count on us being there when Block attempts to one-up himself later this year. Oh, and that "I heart Segway Donuts" T-shirt on the right – you can pick one up for $20.

[Source: Gymkhana via 0-60]

The Rebel Alliance vehicle seen in above was apparently spotted at Guardsman Pass in Utah: a Subaru Impreza WRX rolling on a mighty set of treads wearing Ken Block's number and sponsorship paintjob. We have no idea how, why, or where he acquired such a vehicle, but we do know this much: Ken Block gets to have a lot more fun than the rest of us. Follow the jump to watch the vid.

Fish need water, boys need father figures, and rally games need rally legends. Sadly, Colin McRae, the former world rally champion and the name behind Codemasters' popular DiRT franchise, was tragically killed in a 2007 helicopter accident, leaving big racing shoes to fill. Probably too big for anyone else currently in the World Rally Championship, so for the sequel to the successful video game, Codemasters looked instead to the X-Games and signed Ken Block.

Not to be confused with the Canadian hockey player or the frontman for rock band Sister Hazel, Ken Block is a fixture of the American stunt rally scene. He's also left his mark in skateboarding, snowboarding and motocross, and the extremesportsmeister is co-founder of D.C. Shoe – so whether he can fill McRae's shoes or not, he can craft a pair all his own. Follow the jump to watch the video.

[Source: Joystiq]

There are a remarkable number of crap car videos floating around the intertubes, so it takes a special breed of driving deity to make something that catches our attention. Card-carrying member of the automotive master race, Ken Block, did just that by setting up an utterly insane Gymkhana course around El Toro and then proceeds to flog the life out of his Crawford-prepped Subaru Impreza STI through countless turns, drifts and 360s to create over four minutes of pure motoring bliss. The video speaks for itself, so hit the jump to check it out. And if you want to get inside the mind of the man, head over to 0-60 to read a brief interview of Block and his madcap run.

[Source: 0-60]