Pikes Peak is a challenge for seasoned veterans, never mind first-timers with very little experience in high-powered tarmac race cars. So when 16-year-old Lia Block announced she was driving her dad’s 1,400-horsepower Hoonipigasus Porsche 911 up the hill during this year’s hill climb in a tribute pass, it was assumed she would take it easy.
Yeah, she didn’t.
A new Hoonigan video tells the story of Ken Block’s daughter finishing the climb to the clouds he started in 2022, and we’ll say this right up front: don’t be surprised if someone starts cutting onions while you watch. This 48-minute mini-documentary tugs at some heartstrings, and you don’t have to be a Block fan to partake in the feels. Seeing everyone so emotional when Lia crosses the finish line is, well, emotional. But you didn’t click this post for waterworks. You want to see this young woman kick ass in a seriously overpowered Porsche.
There’s plenty of that, and not just at Pikes Peak. The video opens with her introduction to the car – a whopping two days before making her first practice run up the hill. At an undisclosed track in Colorado, she leaves the pit, rolls onto a drag strip, and promptly rips through the gears under full throttle, hitting 130 mph in the process. Everyone on-site seemed thrilled with her can-do approach, and in the video, she sums it up very succinctly: “Give me a fast car, I’m going to go fast in it.”
The next day saw a few more practice laps at another track, and from there, it was on to Pikes Peak for two more practice runs on the hill. So in four days, Block went from complete newbie status in the Hoonipigasus and at Pikes Peak to making a televised tribute run up the 12.4-mile stage. Keep that in mind when you watch her pass from the bottom to the top, featured at the end of the video.
We’re treated to a plethora of on-board footage, including first-person shots from behind the wheel. One particular sprint between corners shows the digital speedometer reaching 109 mph, and at risk of sounding like a meme, one doesn’t simply go 100 mph on Pikes Peak without some skill. It was an untimed pass and she wasn’t pushing hard, but still, that’s a hell of a run for someone’s first experience in both the car and the location. No wonder she’s the 2023 American Rally Association O2WD national champion.
“Being in that car, everything else goes away,” said Block in the video. “You don’t think about, ‘oh I could drive off this cliff at any moment.’ It’s dangerous, but every form of motorsport is dangerous. That’s half the fun.”
We can’t wait to see what’s next in Lia’s wheelhouse.
