In 2019, the late rally driver and Hoonigan co-founder Ken Block had been hoping to bring his viral Gymkhana video series Down Under. It was a perfect marketing opportunity as the Forza Horizon 3 video game set in Australia had just been released, and the Gymkhana videos were earning tens if not hundreds of millions of views online.
What Block and the Hoonigan team didn’t anticipate was the Australian nanny state. After NSW police caught wind of plans to go sliding Block’s Ford Focus rally car around on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the powers that be insisted any footage captured on Aussie roads would need to comply with all road rules – speed limits and all.
After Block’s tragic death in a snowmobile accident in January 2023, it looked as though the Gymkhana series – and its Electrikhana spin-off – would be gone for good.
However, motorcross and rally racer Travis Pastrana has stepped in to resurrect the series – and not only that, but to finally bring it to Australia as well, complete with a ute for the car of choice, obviously.
Entitled Gymkhana 2025: Aussie Shred, Pastrana seemingly defies physics in what started out in life as a 1978 Subaru Brat – better known here as the Subaru Brumby – but has been transformed into the ‘Brataroo 9500 Turbo’.
Featuring a carbon fibre body, it’s powered by a “highly pressurised” 2.0-litre flat-four engine that produces a nutty 500kW (670hp) and revs to 9500rpm. Together, it means this once plucky little ute is now able to point in any direction, drift like you wouldn’t believe, and even fly.
The Gymkhana series’ long-awaited Aussie adventure hasn’t missed a beat, either, with it including gatecrashing Mount Panorama, hitting the red dirt, tearing through country towns, and even a Sydney Harbour cameo by Aussie YouTube stars Mighty Car Mods.
Or, to put it more simply, it’s nine minutes of pure noise and tyre smoke.
That, and a tribute to Ken Block’s legacy, a snapshot of our country’s landscapes, and an ‘up yours’ to the nanny state.
You can watch the full Gymkhana 2025: Aussie Shred film below:
For those interested in more details on the mental Subaru performing all these stunts, there’s another video from Hoonigan detailing the build which you can also watch below:
