I felt a great disturbance in the force this morning, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Those were the myriad bloggers and Instagrammers ready to write their “I’m over Gymkhana” takes. And I get it. The temptation is strong. Maybe one day I will write that post. But that day isn’t today.
Friends, I am old enough to remember when Gymkhana was a weird project that Ken Block and Brian Scotto were working on, with Mike Spinelli somehow tangentially involved. We had these things called magazines and, for whatever reason, this magazine took Block and his Crawford Performance-prepared WRX out for some ridiculous stunt driving.
They didn’t even call it Gymkhana. They called it “Gymkhana Practice” and it ruled. It was just a car on some tarmac dashing around like a very expensive horse. Or, well, like 530 horses. It was pure, and it was excellent.
Like all things pure and excellent, it felt more commercialized as it got bigger. That’s a silly thing to feel since the original was simultaneously an ad for DC Shoes and Monster Energy, but the lack of polish was kind of the point. If someone gives you millions of dollars to make one of these things, it’ll get polished. That’s what the money is for. They even called the second one an “Infomercial” in a nod to what had changed.
You could argue that each one got better, as the filmmakers involved improved, the technology evolved, and the cars got wilder. There was the switch to Ford, and then the final one with Ken, his Electrikhana, shot before he tragically died.
Travis Pastrana had already taken over by then, back in a Subaru, and it was a little more goofy and fun like the originals. It was content to enjoy and not think too much about, frankly. So when it was announced that Pastrana would be driving a 9,500 RPM Subaru “Brataroo” and going to Australia–home of the hoon–I didn’t give it much neural energy.
The 2025 Gymkhana is “Aussie Shred” and, yeah, it shreds. From start to finish, it’s both as beautiful as the later films (great work to Will Roegge, the cinematographer) and as buoyant and pleasingly self-referential as the older ones (props to Scotto and the creative team).
We’ve got a guy in a kangaroo suit on a Segway for the old heads, Pastrana in flannel driving across water for the new kids, and mayhem for all sickos in between.
Do I have a favorite moment? Yeah. Perhaps this is because Mount Panorama is on my list of tracks I have to visit before I kick it, or my love of Aussie Supercars, but Pastrana driving onto Bathurst is a cinematic adrenaline rush as good as anything you’ll see in modern cinema. It felt real and hyperreal at the same time.
Did you catch all the cameos? There are a lot of them. It’s also significant that they filmed it in Australia at all.
“Australia had long been at the top of the list of potential Gymkhana Film locations.” said Scotto. “Ken Block and I attempted to shoot Gymkhana Nine there, but were met with a resounding no, because of the climate of anti-hoon laws at the time. A decade later, when we reapproached the Australian government, we were met with open arms. This combination of the unfinished business we had down under and this being Pastrana’s last film in the series, not only makes it very special to me, but also put the pressure on to push the limit of what we could do both in the car and behind the camera.”
Sometimes pressure creates diamonds.
Top photo: Hoonigan
This one hit hard.
my first car being a Subaru Brumby (the aussie brat)
I was at Bathurst for the 1000 this year.
the pub they skidded around the corner of in the rocks I’ve drunk at that exact table
and the bar overlooking the finsih point I was at with friends a couple years ago as well.
nostalgia is a bitch
That was worth the time!
I got to it from the Mighty Car Mods related video of their participation.
It was a really fun Gymkhana video!
I drove a rental Hyundai i45 around Sydney and most of NSW and up to Canberra. But I don’t hoon rentals. The worst thing I did in a borrowed car, from the dealership, was a handbrake turn in a Civic. Many years ago, while they were replacing the AT in an ’86 Accord under warranty.
I really do not try to abuse vehicles, whether I own them or not. I admire them for what they are. A much better way to get around than walking or a bicycle. Some are better than others, but I don’t see any point in abuse.
The Gymkana/Hoonigan cars are built for abuse. They’re not civilian-spec.
They’re also crazy to watch in person. Travis Pastrana drove the Family Huckster out at SubieFest last year, and it was a riot. Watching the Gymkhana episode that one appeared in, it looks like movie magic, but it’s super powerful and super light, so it’s the real deal.
There’s not a single original body panel on that thing, having all been replaced with custom CF pieces.
This Brat is largely the same philosophy… and it’s fun to watch AWD cars smoke all the tires, isn’t it?
TL;DR/PSA: Don’t drive your regular cars like this, but watch what the 100% custom stunt cars can do.
I totally get that. Sequential shift. Engine constantly bouncing off the fuel cutoff/rev-limiter. Those cars and those drivers can do a lot of stuff me and none of my cars ever and I couldn’t and I give them kudos.
They’re a hoot to watch, and I love the engineering that goes into them.
And that engine constantly bouncing off the rev-limiter? That’s no joke! Add to that straight-piped exhaust (usually routed out of the fender) and the noise from these beasts is epic. I love the way a boxer sounds, and this is like an orchestra of boxers.
This was fantastic. I love Ken Block, but dare I say, I love Travis more.
Watched this with my kids (9 and 11) tonight. We loved it. “No way!” “Whoa!” “I want to do that!” “Coooooooool.” Not about a video game but about silly car stunts in a silly car filmed in a fun way – just how it all started. I’m not sure I need more commentary than that.
Go check out the Family Huckster video. Start with the build video, if it’s not already attached… then the stunt video. The engineering is almost as fun as the stunts.
Totally agree. The kids noticed the fender flaps and aero and immediately wanted to learn more about it so we did.
Incredible. Every single one of these videos has been jaw dropping. It’s the last Pastrana video in the series? I wonder what is next for both Gymkhana and Travis!
Leave it to Pastrana to one up Blockie’s wheel at the edge of the dock that he did in Buffalo.
That move always makes my anxiety spike LOL. There’s a reason why the Gymkhana vehicles are AWD, for sure.