Is someone able to tell me what in the hell happened here? Hoonigan productions are typically a raucous affair, filled with insane action, silly sideshow distractions, and crap-loads of tire smoke. So when I got word that Ken Block was going to be hitting the streets of Guanajuato, Mexico in his Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo, I did a little happy dance. At least, until I watched the video…
Unlike the all-out bonkers Focus RS rallycar that was used to pound this very same pavement, Ken Block’s 2018 Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo features a far more modest run of performance and safety enhancements. There’s a Hoonigan hydraulic handbrake, an S3 Powersports cage and bumpers, and an ECU reflash on board, the latter of which bumps power up to the 215-horsepower mark. This modesty doesn’t just stop with the ATV itself, as the video footage itself is quick to point out.
It’s not that the 2-minute, 33-second long clip was a complete snooze-fest, it just felt unfinished and didn’t include many of the hijinks that make an average Hoonigan production so outrageously enjoyable. What starts with tire smoke and the promise of a good time quickly dissolves into a series of prolonged tunnel shots and underwhelming power slides.
There’s just one jump in the entire video, and even then the ATV doesn’t get a lot of air. The same ho-hum results materialize when Ken Block attempts to plow sideways through a wall of staged piñatas, where nary a single piece of exploding candy is to be seen.
Granted, none of us were there to see what was going on behind the scenes, but I get the notion that the Hoonigan team was unable to get the run they wanted for one reason or another, and decided to just roll with what they had on film. Here’s to hoping that the next Can-Am video they do contains more action and a compelling ending.
