Cartoonish speed.
Master-of-all-things-motor Travis Pastrana obliterated the Mt. Washington Hillclimb record yesterday in his specially prepped Subaru WRX STI, scrambling across the finish line in 5:28.67. The new time bests the old record (which Pastrana set in 2017) by a little over 16 seconds. This year, the next-closest competitor trailed Pastrana by more than 45 seconds.
Making the ridiculous new record a reality was Pastrana's one-off Subaru WRX STI race car. Dubbed the "Airslayer," this 'Rex takes everything good about the iconic rally machine and brings it to another universe. Making the power is a 2.3-liter flat-four stuffed with 50 psi of boost, resulting in 862 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque, all of which is harnessed by a Sadev six-speed sequential dogbox.
The exterior is made up of an all-carbon widebody treatment with active aero components to keep it planted - or flying straight, as the case may be. Curb weight is a feathery 2,623 pounds.
Purpose-built for the Gymkhana 2020 viral video, the Airslayer Subaru WRX STI is a step up from the 600-horsepower Scooby that Pastrana wheeled in his record-setting run in 2017.
The course in question is a two-lane, 7.6-mile spaghetti strand draped across Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. First held in 1904, the Mt. Washington Auto Race was revived in 2011, and is typically held every three years.
Similar to the Pikes Peak Hillclimb event in Colorado, Mt. Washington is twisting and narrow, with steep drops and no room for error. However, unlike the modern Pikes Peak course, Mt. Washington incorporates a mixed surface, with both tarmac and gravel to contend with.
Despite the danger, Pastrana attacked the mountainside like he's got a reset button on the steering wheel. Watch the maniacal wheelman push his Airslayer Subaru WRX STI to the limit in the POV video below:
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