Subaru Huckster: Embracing Reckless Driving

author: FutureCar Staff    

"It's the first car that I've ever driven that was designed just to be stupid in," says Chris Harris of the tire-shredding Subaru Huckster, and he loves it.

TV's Chris Harris has driven a lot of vehicles, and a lot of purpose-built racecars. But the Subaru Huckster, designed and built for Travis Pastrana to film Gymkhana 12, is the first car he's ever driven "that has been made for someone to behave like an absolute dick," and the results are pretty impressive.

Although it looks like, and was based on a 1983 Subaru GL Wagon, the Huckster has a full, competition-spec roll cage, bolted-in bucket seats, and one of the craziest flat-four engines on the road today.

Based on Subaru's rallycross engine, the flat-four has been bored to 2.3-liters to give it more power potential. Then, a single turbocharger that has also been used by a "car with a horse on the front of it," helps generate more power still.

Thanks to the extra displacement, the big turbocharger, and an 8,500 rpm redline, it makes 862 hp (643 kW/874 PS) and 680 lb-ft (922 Nm) of torque. All of it runs to all four wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox, and makes for a somewhat unusual driving experience.

Of course, the power is impressive, and can help get the car up to 169 mph (272 km/h), but the AWD and the placement of the engine (as far back as possible) means that Harris has to adopt his driving style to drift it.

Unlike a big, powerful RWD car, in which you are counter steering to manage a drift, the Huckster wants all four wheel to be pointing the same direction while it drifts. And that can be difficult to manage.

"It's just eating the rear tires, as well. When the tires are with me, it's lovely, but when they start to go, it becomes a real handful," says Harris, adding that he is impressed by Pastrana's driving skills, because the car is "quite spiky on the limit."

The strangeness of driving it is due in large part to the fact that this is an unusual car. Whereas other purpose-built vehicles are designed for rallying or track driving, this one was designed for Gymkhana.

"It's the first car that I've ever driven that was designed just to be stupid in. But that still requires a real focus. I love it," says Harris. "It's the ultimate playground idiocy tool. Tell you what, it's not to be trifled with. It's an animal. An absolute animal."

FutureCar Staff