GTA 5 players pay tribute to departed rally driver Ken Block in the best way possible: with sick stunts

A still image from TuttoAuto's tribute video to Ken Block, showing a car drifting between a bulldozer and another car.
(Image credit: TuttoAuto / Rockstar)

2023 got off to a tragic start with the death of Ken Block, the legendary American rally driver whose gymkhana stunt videos have accrued hundreds of millions of views in their time. In those videos, Block performed stylish and stylishly-edited routines requiring precise timing and borderline-supernatural talent. So, naturally, a bunch of Block fans in the Grand Theft Auto Online community took it upon themselves to make an in-game gymkhana video (via PCGamesN) of their own in tribute to the man himself.

a_tribute_to_ken_block_made_by_my_car_meet_group from r/gtaonline

Created by the TuttoAuto group, it's peppered with all sorts of references to Block's original gymkhana videos. A stunt from Gymkhana 7—in which Block drifts under a car as it hydraulically bounces its front wheels in the air—is recreated to a tee, and more Block-knowledgeable Redditors than I have already clocked other little details that tip their hats to the real-life stunt shows.

It's a testament to the dedication and skill of the tribute's creators that it was created completely without the aid of mods. Replying to a comment on Reddit, a TuttoAuto admin clarified that the video was created using only "the ingame cars and some skill". A fair bit of skill, I'd say. If I attempted something similar, the whole video would end up resembling a kind of extended Mr. Bean skit.

Fans of Block and fans of cool stuff happening in GTA Online are united in their positive response to the video, which has garnered a sparkling array of Reddit awards I'm not even going to try and name as well as a few thousand upvotes since it appeared two days ago. "I think if he was here he'd be proud of you all," said one Redditor, while another complimented the "Quality production, camera work, driving and some of Ken's iconic moves."

Block was no stranger to videogames himself, or at least no stranger to appearing in them. An accomplished rally racer, he appeared as a driver in the DiRT series—and even recorded a video to promote the third game's then-new gymkhana mode—as well as the WRC: FIA World Rally Championship game and Need For Speed. He died in a snowmobile accident on January 2 this year, at 55 years old.

GTA 6GTA 5 modsGTA 5 cheatsGTA 6 carsSan Andreas cheats

GTA 6: Everything we know
GTA 5 mods: Revved up
GTA 5 cheats: Phone it in
GTA 6 cars: The lineup
San Andreas cheats: All the codes

TOPICS
Joshua Wolens
News Writer

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

Read more
GTA 5
It's time we talked about how wild it is to be a pedestrian in GTA 5
GTA 4 - Niko Bellic
GTA 5 mod recreating GTA 4's map nuked after 6 years of work because people noticed, and Rockstar insisted on a 'friendly takedown', if you know what I mean
Tokyo Xtreme Racer
Tokyo Xtreme Racer brings heart, soul, and sweet handbrake turns back to the genre just when it needed them most
Two GTA Online figures on a hill overlooking the water
As a longtime GTA roleplayer, this documentary about actors putting on Hamlet inside GTA Online made me laugh, cry, and wholeheartedly regret ever calling Shakespeare a boring old bastard
Crazy Taxi being speedrun with a live backing band
Speedrunning Crazy Taxi with a live band is an inventive way to dodge a DMCA takedown
A man with purple hair and face tattoos poses for a mugshot in the GTA 6 trailer.
Playable GTA 6 map nuked without warning by Take-Two lawyers: 'My guess is that the map was probably a little too accurate'
Latest in Grand Theft Auto
gta 6 trailer
Publishers 'don't want to be anywhere near' Grand Theft Auto 6 when it launches: 'It's proving to be very stressful'
A man with purple hair and face tattoos poses for a mugshot in the GTA 6 trailer.
Playable GTA 6 map nuked without warning by Take-Two lawyers: 'My guess is that the map was probably a little too accurate'
Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer still - woman in the front seat of a car, looking out the back window while holding a wad of cash
The specter of a GTA 6 delay haunts the games industry: 'Some companies are going to tank' if they guess wrong, says analyst
A man holding a gun drives a boat as money flies out the back in GTA Online
Rockstar hornswoggles lapsed GTAO players with $3 million welcome-back offer that actually requires you to spend money to get most of it
GTA 5 characters
GTA 5 publisher takes legal aim at account-selling site for allegedly raking in 'millions in revenue', while recruiting hackers to keep its cogs turning
GTA 5 Enhanced
Grand Theft Auto 5 Enhanced is a bitter-sweet return to Rockstar's money-making machine
Latest in News
A gigantic terracotta sentinel made of living armor
Total War: Warhammer 3's army of Cathay has broken containment and is making its way to tabletop Warhammer at last
Two brightly colored stormtroopers dressed like Run-DMC stand in front of PAX Australia's WELCOME HOME banner.
Tickets for PAX Australia 2025 are on sale now
An Enshrouded player in a recreation of Erebor from The Lord of the Rings
Kings under the Mountain! 33 Enshrouded players spent 10,000 hours to recreate this iconic location from The Lord of the Rings
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm