Travis Pastrana’s bonkers 862bhp Subaru WRX STI that featured in last year’s Gymkhana film is set to embark on a tour that will hit two of the world’s most famous hillclimb courses, as well as a handful of festivals and auto shows.
The tour, dubbed the ‘2021 Airslayer Global Takeover’ includes stops all over America, plus the car’s first international appearance since it broke cover in October of last year.
But before all of that, Subaru will be releasing an extended cut of the film on its YouTube channel on June 15.
From there, the car will leave the US for the first time, heading to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK where it will tackle the timed shoot out – the only competitive competition on the famed driveway hillclimb course at Goodwood House.
“From the first test in this STI, I knew we had to use it for more than Gymkhana!” Pastrana said. “So much power and downforce, plus all the rally and rallycross tech in the chassis and suspension – this car is going to be perfect for hillclimbs, where we can really take advantage of this level of performance.
“Plus I’m really excited that we can finally share it with fans for the first time as events reopen this summer.”
It will mark the second consecutive Festival of Speed appearance for Subaru Motorsports USA too, with Oliver Solberg driving the WRX STI he shared with Pastrana at the 2019 edition of the event; mere weeks after chalking up his first American Rally Association Series win at the Olympus Rally.
A month later Pastrana will return to the Mt Washington Hillclimb, where he will aim to beat his own outright record that he set in 2017 using a modified, 600bhp version of his Open Class rally car.
The car will then head straight from New Hampshire to New York, where it’ll make the first of four show appearances, culminating in the Los Angeles Auto Show at the end of November.
2021 2021 Airslayer Global Takeover
June 15: Gymkhana 2020 Extended Cut
Subaru YouTube Channel
July 8-11: Goodwood Festival of Speed Hillclimb Shootout
Goodwood, UK
August 13-15: Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb presented by Yokohama
Pinkham Notch, NH
August 19-29: New York Auto Show
New York, NY
September 12: Wicked Big Meet
Stafford, CT
October 17: Subiefest California
Arcadia, CA
November 17-28: Los Angeles Auto Show
Los Angeles, CA
In December of last year Pastrana became the first person to take over from Ken Block in the lead role in Hoonigan’s iconic Gymkhana web video series.
For Pastrana’s film, the 11th official entry into the series, the five-time US rally champion took to his hometown of Annapolis, Maryland, sliding through the streets, leaping over rivers, and racing past his childhood home. It has since been viewed over 34 million times.
The video also marked the first time since 2009’s Gymkhana Two that a Subaru had played central role in the series, with factory motorsport partner Vermont SportsCar building a car specifically for the production that utilized rally and rallycross technology, as well as active aerodynamics, making it one of the most outlandish cars to feature in the long-running viral series so far.
