Subaru’s wildest pickup just walked on water. Next stop, Goodwood
Travis Pastrana is taking the 670-hp, 9,500-rpm Brataroo up the Goodwood hill in July 2026. This time it’s not about smoke — it’s about a time.
Nobody saw this coming to Goodwood. Subaru Motorsports USA is bringing one of the craziest cars of the last decade to Britain — the Subaru Brataroo 9500 Turbo. The pickup that literally skimmed across a lake in the latest Gymkhana film is heading for the legendary Hillclimb. The Festival of Speed runs from 9 to 12 July 2026.
Behind the wheel — Travis Pastrana. He’s entered in the Hillclimb Shootout: 1.16 miles, or about 1.87 km of tarmac, straw bales on both sides and a stopwatch instead of applause. And that’s the point. At Goodwood, nobody expects Brataroo to just make smoke and jump — they expect a serious time against proper racing machinery.
So what exactly is this Brataroo? Officially, it’s a modern homage to the 1978 Subaru BRAT pickup. In reality, it’s a brand-new machine built by Vermont SportsCar and Subaru Motorsports USA for the Gymkhana franchise. There’s almost nothing of the original BRAT left: the body is full carbon fibre, the chassis is built to WRC safety standards, and the gearbox is a six-speed SADEV sequential.
Now the heart of it. Under the bonnet sits a turbocharged 2.0-litre Subaru Boxer. Output — 670 hp, 680 lb-ft of torque. Redline — beyond 9,500 rpm, which is where the name comes from. This is the highest-revving Gymkhana car ever built. For scale: the 1978 BRAT made around 70 hp. Exactly ten times less.
Then there’s the active aerodynamics. Two swappable rear wings — one for speed, one for stunts — and movable louvres in the front fenders. All of it exists to control the car’s attitude in the air. Yes, in the air: Brataroo was built for very big jumps.
Pastrana has come close at Goodwood twice already, both times in a Subaru. In 2021 in the WRX STI Airslayer and in 2023 in the Family Huckster, he finished second overall in the Hillclimb Shootout. Both times he was a heartbeat away. Now he’s got Brataroo. Third time’s the charm — or at least the wildest show of the week.