Travis Pastrana unveiled his "Family Huckster" 1983 Subaru GL wagon earlier this year but kept the specs under wraps. Now we have a bit more detail on this insane build, which will appear at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed and in a Gymkhana video later this year.
Designed with help from Subaru Motorsports USA, the wagon will borrow some aerodynamic tricks from the Subaru WRX STI Airslayer, the one-off STI Pastrana drove in Gymkhana 2020, according to a press release from Gymkhana producer Hoonigan. After subbing for series creator Ken Block for that video, Pastrana also set a record at the 2021 Mt. Washington Hill Climb in the Airslayer.
Like the Airslayer, the Family Huckster has an active rear wing, as well as movable aerodynamic flaps front and rear. It also has a carbon-fiber roof rack designed to direct air to the rear-mounted radiator via a NACA duct in the roof. Given the GL's boxy shape, those devices were definitely needed.
Travis Pastrana's Family Huckster 1983 Subaru GL wagon
"The '83 wagon flies about as well as you would imagine... kind of like a brick," Pastrana said in a statement. "This makes the jumps way more sketchy but also more entertaining and less predictable. The Family Huckster is without a doubt my all-time favorite vehicle to drive."
While it was designed to look like a 1983 Subaru GL, the Family Huckster has a custom tubular space frame chassis with carbon-fiber bodywork. It rolls on one-off KMC wheels inspired by the 8-spoke wheels that denoted all-wheel drive Subarus in the 1980s (some Subaru models were still front-wheel drive back then).
As in the Airslayer, power is provided by an 862-hp boxer-4 engine, coupled to a 6-speed sequential gearbox and all-wheel drive. The wagon will incorporate some changes to the differentials informed by Pastrana's Mt. Washington record run, according to Hoonigan.
Travis Pastrana's Family Huckster 1983 Subaru GL wagon
The interior aims to replicate the look of a stock GL wagon. It features a scanned recreation of the original dashboard, rendered in blue carbon fiber to match the color of the original. The dash also includes an original 1983 GL radio and a 12-inch digital instrument cluster with a display programmed to look like a 1980s Subaru digital cluster.
The Family Huckster will appear at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed, scheduled for June 23-26, and will make its Gymkhana debut sometime after that. Hoonigan hasn't discussed a release date for the next video, though.
For more Goodwood Festival of Speed coverage, head to our dedicated hub.
