(October 22, 2012) BIRMINGHAM, England — Having taken the Internet by storm, Ken Block is gearing up to thrill crowds at this week’s Top Gear Live show at Birmingham’s NEC Oct. 25-28. The Californian extreme sportsman who has wowed more than 200 million YouTube viewers with his spectacular stunt-filled Gymkhana viral videos will be bringing his madcap motoring movies to life.

Top Gear Live will be a rare UK performance for the legendary Block and his Monster World Rally Team.



While the indoor Track Performance arena at the NEC won’t provide quite the same backdrop as Block’s latest Gymkhana episode, set on the streets of San Francisco, fans can still expect a memorable display of car control as the American hero unleashes his souped-up Ford Fiesta rally car and delivers an amazing series of dramatic tire trashing drifts and donuts.

Block is no stranger to viewers of the BBC Top Gear television program. A couple of years ago he took one of the presenters, James May, for a few hundred spins around a deserted airport. May will also be at Top Gear Live — he joins Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond in hosting the live Arena Performance that follows all nine of the track performances staged over the four days at the NEC. 

Top photo from Block's exploits in San Francisco.