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New ‘Gymkhana’ car is an old-school Subaru wagon

Fitted with a weapons-grade motor under the hood, of course

This GL will be Travis Pastrana's toy in the next 'Gymkhana' episode. TWITTER POST BY SUBARU

The Gymkhana series of stunt-driving videos has featured old vehicles before. Of course, these have been modified to have the speed and agility needed by rally-driver Ken Block to do his signature maneuvers. But even though the tire-shredding baton has been passed on to X Games gold medalist Travis Pastrana, the tradition of using classic cars continues.

For this year’s Gymkhana episode, Pastrana will be using a very unlikely machine: a Subaru GL wagon (Leone in other markets). The GL/Leone was one of the first vehicles to be exported by the automaker. It featured an early version of the automaker’s now-famous all-wheel-drive system. Its horizontally opposed engine sits low in the centerline of the car, and is mated to a transmission that sends power symmetrically to all four wheels.

We love wagons, so we're looking forward to seeing this car in action. TWITTER POST BY SUBARU

As expected, Pastrana’s GL gets a little spruced up to be able to handle the rigors of stunt driving. The track has been widened for more stability, and the wheelbase has been shortened so the car can initiate slides more easily. In this video, Pastrana says that the car has around 900hp, which should be more than enough to get the tires smoking the moment he stabs the throttle.



Miggi Solidum

Professionally speaking, Miggi is a software engineering dude who happens to like cars a lot. And as an automotive enthusiast, he wants a platform from which he can share his motoring thoughts with fellow petrolheads. He pens the column ‘G-Force’.



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