Travis Pastrana’s Subaru Family Huckster Gymkhana car
Travis Pastrana’s “Family Huckster” packs the guts of a Gymkhana car into the body of a 1983 Subaru GL. Pastrana unveiled this unusual build earlier this year, and the car is making its Gymkhana video debut on December 6th.
Inspired by Subaru GL wagons used as a marketing liaison with the US Ski Team, the Family Huckster retains the boxy profile of its production counterpart but features a custom tube frame chassis and carbon fiber body panels and doors. While the wheelbase is about the same as the original, the Huckster is about a foot wider.
This is both a throwback to Subaru’s early days and a practical choice for video shoots, Pastrana explains in the video. The corners of the car are visible from the driver’s seat, which is useful when driving close to obstacles. Pastrana also doesn’t have to worry about damaging a protruding rear wing like he did on his previous Gymkhana car, the Subaru WRX STI Airslayer.
Travis Pastrana’s Family Huckster 1983 Subaru GL station wagon
Like the Airslayer, the Family Huckster was built by Vermont SportsCar, the company that also builds the WRX STI rally cars that Pastrana drives in the American Rally Association (ARA) championship. Under the boxy Subaru GL body, the car has quite a bit in common with those rally cars.
Power comes from the same turbocharged 2.3-liter flat-4 used in the Airslayer. The engine produces the same 862 hp as in the Airslayer, which is sent to all four wheels via a 6-speed sequential gearbox. Designed to have a higher top speed than the Airslayer, the Family Huckster has a top speed of 175 mph.
The Family Huckster also incorporates some of the Airslayer’s active aerodynamic elements. Flaps deploy when additional downforce is needed, then retract to reduce grip when Pastrana wants to go sideways. Instead of the Airslayer’s large rear wing, the Family Huckster has a movable wing that protrudes from the roof.
In keeping with the family car theme, Vermont SportsCar added a roof rack that also serves an aerodynamic function. It helps direct air into a roof-mounted intake for the radiator, located in the rear of the car.
For authenticity, the car sports original Subaru GL taillights and badging on the outside and some factory switches on the inside. Vermont SportsCar also recreated the stock dashboard in carbon fiber, with a blue tint referencing the original interior color. The manufacturer also gave the digital instrument cluster 1980s-style graphics. One touch that’s not from the 1980s is the steering wheel paddle, which Pastrana pushes to activate a radio and pulls to turn on the wipers.
Look for the Family Huckster in a new Gymkhana video premiering December 6th. In the meantime, watch the full video to see this one-of-a-kind car up close.
