Ken Block hands over the next Gymkhana installment to Travis Pastrana and Subaru
The last seven installments of his internet-famous Gymkhana videos featured Ford vehicles, but Ken Block is now opening the door for Travis Pastrana to bring the stunt video franchise back to its Subaru roots for Gymkhana 11.
Ken Block kicked off a viral video franchise in 2008 with his original Gymkhana Practice video that had him tearing up the airstrip at a former Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro. The video’s amazing driving, along with the raw audio from a 530-horsepower Subaru WRX, captivated automotive enthusiasts of every stripe, drawing more than 51 million views.
Block and his Hoonigan compatriots have filmed lots more Gymkhana videos, releasing the latest installment, Gymkhana 10, in 2018. Only the first two installments featured heavily modified versions of the Subaru WRX. Since then, Block has used a number of Fords, including a Fiesta, a Focus, an Escort RS Cosworth, an AWD Mustang, and an EcoBoost-powered 1977 F-150 pickup.
Travis Pastrana, Block’s Subaru Rally Team USA teammate from 2005-2009, has been making his own stunt driving videos with his personal WRX STI. He and Block have been trying to one-up each other in their latest stunts, so Block offered him the opportunity, along with the Hoonigan film crew, to create the next installment of Gymkhana.
Pastrana has Subaru backing him up, so while we may see a familiar brand that circles back in a sense to the original two Gymkhana videos, Pastrana promises that the new projects be, “unlike any Gymkhana you’ve ever seen before.”
Subaru hasn’t released any word on dates or locations, but Pastrana has some hefty skate shoes to fill and seems up to the challenge. Expect something big in the next few months.
