The Hoonigan driver joined forces with Supercars on the eve of this year’s Bathurst 1000 to film parts of his latest ‘Gymkhana’ video series at Mount Panorama, which involved sliding around some of our local stars and their cars.
That session followed a trip to The Rocks in Sydney, and was made before Pastrana and his crew reportedly ventured out to Broken Hill for more filming.
While we could clearly see at the time his car of choice was a Subaru Brat – sold in Australia as the Brumby – the high-performance ute has today been officially unveiled and named.
Called the Subaru Brataroo 9500 Turbo, it’s based on a first-generation 1978 Brat, but with few of its original parts carrying over.
Built by Subaru of America and technical partner Vermont SportsCar (VSC), under the widebody is a turbocharged 2.0-litre flat-four boxer engine capable of revving to 9500rpm (hence the name), while producing 500kW and 922Nm.
Its power figure may be slightly down on the equally retro Subaru GL Wagon-based ‘Family Truckster’ – which made 640kW from its 2.3-litre engine – but the Brataroo retains an all-wheel drive system and Rallycross-derived Sadev six-speed sequential transmission.
The Brataroo’s bespoke body is made from carbon fibre, and is wrapped in a livery incorporating Australia’s red dust and kangaroos, designed by Khyzyl Saleem who has previously worked on the TWR Supercat, as well as the Family Huckster.
As previously spotted by Torquecafe, the Brataroo also incorporates active aerodynamics, with its front wheel-arch vents and rear wings able to move to provide more or less downforce.
Other changes to the Brat include KMC forged monoblock 18-inch wheels, a carbon-fibre interior, active aero controls in place of the heating and cooling controls, plus a restored factory-fit radio.
“This Brat’s completely unhinged – in the best way possible,” Pastrana said.
“It’s got the soul of a vintage Subaru with the tech to do things no Gymkhana car has ever done. Every part of it is designed to take abuse, fly big, and come back for more. It’s hands down the craziest Gymkhana car we’ve ever built.”
Pastrana and the Brataroo will make their Gymkhana debut in the upcoming film ‘Aussie Shred’, due to premiere on Hoonigan’s YouTube channel in early December.
It will mark the second Gymkhana video starring Pastrana since the death of series founder Ken Block in 2023, who had created 10 videos in the series, plus two related videos for Audi, one of which was released posthumously.
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