DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 25, 2011 – Ken Block is known as a trendsetter, certainly when it comes to his on-the-edge driving. Be it in the World Rally Championship or in his recently released Gymkhana FOUR video on YouTube, he is ahead of the curve. Now, Block and the Monster World Rally Team are on the leading edge of technology as their multidiscipline rally H.F.H.V. (Hybrid Function Hoon Vehicle) Ford Fiesta is equipped with Ford SYNC®.
Block’s Fiesta is the first competition-ready car armed with Ford SYNC, which allows him to enjoy a wide array of award-winning in-car connectivity and communications features including hands-free, voice-activated calling and turn-by-turn directions as well as the ability to play his favorite music via Pandora.
“I love my new Ford Fiesta H.F.H.V. race car because it’s one of the most unique competition race cars on the planet and is capable of doing many different styles of driving. One unique feature of this car is that it still has SYNC hooked up inside. So whenever I’m transitioning between rally stages or just driving around town, I’m able to make phone calls, have my texts read to me, look up businesses and listen to my favorite driving songs – it’s awesome!”
Ford SYNC will not replace Block’s longtime co-driver Alex Gelsomino, as use of the turn-by-turn direction capability is not legal for rally competition. However, it can help Block find the Parc Expose or the MWRT paddock service area in his street-legal Fiesta. Read more and watch the video of Gymkhana FOUR!
“We are excited to partner with Ken to be able to showcase how intuitive and powerful SYNC technology is, even while he has to be laser-focused on his driving,” said Cole Buccafurri, Digital Marketing Communications, Ford Motor Company. “Ken is an artist of his craft and we thought this would be an amazing opportunity to leverage his skills to connect this great technology with his great fans.”
Ford SYNC was introduced in late 2007 and is installed in more than 3 million Ford Motor Company vehicles.
With SYNC, customers enjoy the hands-free features and services that have quickly established it as a must-have technology, with more than 50 percent of owners saying it was important to their purchase decision and 76 percent of current SYNC users saying they would recommend the system to other customers. Those features include:
- Hands-free, voice-activated calling via a Bluetooth®-connected mobile phone
- Hands-free, voice-activated control of a USB-connected digital music player
- 911 Assist™, the automated emergency calling service that is free for the life of the vehicle
- Vehicle Health Report, the on-demand diagnostic and maintenance information service
- SYNC Services, the cloud-based network of voice-activated services including turn-by-turn directions, traffic, business search, weather, sports scores, stock quotes, movie listings and horoscopes
- AppLink, the ability to access and control smartphone apps such as Pandora and Stitcher by voice
Block’s 600-hp H.F.H.V. Fiesta is the star of DC Shoes: Ken Block’s Gymkhana FOUR; the Hollywood Megamercial, which amassed more than 6 million views on YouTube in the first week after its mid-August release. Based on the M-Sport WRC Fiesta rally car, Block plans to use the H.F.H.V. Fiesta for his North American competition – ranging from stage rally events to Gymkhana to rallycross and X Games.