Hoonigan unveils Travis Pastrana's Subaru WRX STI for the next Gymkhana

We knew that the star of the next gymkhana in the series started by Ken Block would not be the ‘show man’ himself, and that for this occasion he would have none other than Travis Pastrana, the veteran and versatile driver of practically every wheeled vehicle you can imagine, rival and friend of Ken Block, as the lead.

In addition, it was revealed that Pastrana would turn to a car brand he has been linked with in motorsport for ages, Subaru, whose US division supports the driver for this project and his participation in other disciplines. He would climb aboard a model that reappears in one of the aforementioned gymkhanas, the Subaru WRX STI.

From street car to showbiz car

What we did not yet know was how the multidisciplinary team of Subaru Motorsports and USA, Hoonigan and other partners such as tyre maker Yokohama, would tackle getting this next co-star of the gymkhana onto the tarmac.

And while the car’s final specifications are still pending, this Subaru WRX STI retains little of the production model; in fact, apart from the chassis, very little would be recognisable from the version still sold in showrooms, which is entering its final phase on sale while awaiting its replacement.

Be that as it may, we know that the Subaru WRX STI that Pastrana has already driven is an evolution taken to the extreme of the car he competes with in the rally championship and also in rallycross. Since the gymkhana has no rules beyond technical and budgetary ones, this monster has a carbon-fibre bodywork dressing a machine that, for the first time, reached Travis Pastrana’s hands on the same day this video was filmed.

That said, it seems the only thing the production vehicle and the one used in the filming will have in common is the tyre model, since, as indicated, Pastrana’s Subaru fitted tyres approved for road use, like any other Subaru Impreza WRX STI, a set which, before being fitted to the rims, had already been condemned to be sacrificed before the end of the test day that previews the capabilities of this extreme machine created for the occasion, and which has been immortalised in this way.

https://youtu.be/Pc-8DH-7KDc