by The Return of Gymkhana with Incredible Stunts in Australia
The legendary Gymkhana video series, which once made rally ace Ken Block famous, is back with a new episode. This time, the lead role is played by Travis Pastrana, and the action unfolds against the backdrop of breathtaking Australian landscapes. The central vehicle was a custom Subaru Brat, created specifically for this film titled “Aussie Shred”.
An Incredible Start and Powerful Technique
The project became possible thanks to the collaboration between Hoonigan and Subaru Motorsports USA. The film opens with a spectacular shot: Pastrana in a powerful 670-horsepower Subaru Brat jumps over one of the famous Australian road trains in the heart of the desert. After that, he heads to a small town where he performs a series of drifts and also does “donuts” around a person in a kangaroo costume, which is a nod to the very first films in the series.
The Show Continues on the Legendary Track
The next location is one of Australia’s most famous race tracks — Mount Panorama, home of the Bathurst 1000 endurance race. Pastrana takes to the track right during an Australian Supercars series race, drifts alongside powerful V8 supercars, and then stages an exciting drag race down the long straight with one of the Chevrolet Camaros.
Finale in Sydney and the Car’s Special Feature
The final part of the filming took place in Sydney, where the driver drifted through city streets and then, on a specially prepared area in the port, unleashed the capabilities of his Brat. The car is equipped with a custom 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, the sound of which, according to the creators, is unique to the entire Gymkhana series.
Australia had long been at the top of the list of potential locations for a Gymkhana film. Ken Block and I tried to shoot Gymkhana Nine there, but received a firm refusal due to the climate of anti-hooning laws at the time. A decade later, when we approached the Australian government again, we were met with open arms.
This combination of unfinished business we had there and this being Pastrana’s final film in the series makes it special for me, and also adds pressure to push the boundaries of what we could do both with the car and behind the camera.
This project became special not only because of the scale of the stunts performed and the exotic locations but also due to the symbolic closing of a certain chapter. Filming in Australia, which was once impossible due to legislative restrictions, was finally realized. Furthermore, the film is notable as Travis Pastrana’s final work within the Gymkhana series, adding historical weight to it. The use of a unique, specially built car based on the Subaru Brat, rather than the usual supercar, emphasizes the team’s creative approach to finding new forms to demonstrate the driver’s skill and the machine’s capabilities. The success of this installment shows how the authorities’ approach to such projects has changed and what potential for automotive culture such collaboration can unlock.
