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Travis Pastrana Is Racing This Outrageous 862-HP Subaru GL at Goodwood

Steven Ewing Former managing editor
Steven Ewing spent his childhood reading car magazines, making his career as an automotive journalist an absolute dream job. After getting his foot in the door at Automobile while he was still a teenager, Ewing found homes on the mastheads at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog and Motor1.com before joining the CNET team in 2018. He has also served on the World Car Awards jury. Ewing grew up ingrained in the car culture of Detroit -- the Motor City -- before eventually moving to Los Angeles. In his free time, Ewing loves to cook, binge trash TV and play the drums.
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Steven Ewing
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Hoonigan Subaru GL
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Hoonigan Subaru GL

How rad is this?

 Hoonigan

What's happening

Hoonigan and Subaru Motorsports USA, with the help of Vermont SportsCar, built an 862-horsepower rally car based on a 1983 Subaru GL wagon.

Why it matters

Called The Family Huckster, this GL will race at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and will be featured in Hoonigan's Gymkhana video series.

What's next

The Goodwood Festival of Speed runs from June 23 to 26, at Goodwood House in West Sussex, England.

My favorite thing about the Goodwood Festival of Speed is the sheer breadth of cars that go runnin' up that hill. Old cars, new cars, road cars, race cars -- you name it, Goodwood's got it. And then there's the occasional entrant that no one ever expects.

This year, that "WTF?" car is a 1983 Subaru GL wagon created by Hoonigan and Subaru Motorsports USA. Making its debut Thursday, this rally-spec blast from the past packs a turbocharged flat-four engine, all-wheel drive, a World Rally Championship-spec suspension and carbon-fiber bodywork. Did I mention it also makes 862 horsepower?

Called The Family Huckster, this rad GL was built by Vermont SportsCar, Subaru's US motorsport partner. It has a huge active rear wing, along with aero flaps on the front fender flares that can be controlled automatically or manually. The lightweight KMC wheels are painted gold because that's the correct choice, and their monoblock design is extremely good. Stem to stern, this GL is hella cool.

Hoonigan Subaru GL
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Hoonigan Subaru GL

I love the '80s-tastic digital gauge cluster.

 Hoonigan

Inside, the replica dashboard is made of carbon fiber, dyed blue to match the original GL. There's also a 12-inch digital gauge cluster with an intentionally '80s look, and Subaru even went so far as to install a radio from an actual 1983 GL wagon. It's that attention to detail that really seals the deal.

The Huckster will be driven by well-known racer and stunt driver Travis Pastrana, who will also show off the car in the next installment of Hoonigan's Gymkhana video series. Pastrana calls this 862-hp GL his "all-time favorite vehicle to drive," saying it "flies about as well as you would imagine ... kind of like a brick."

The 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed takes place from June 23 to 26.

The 1983 Subaru GL Family Huckster Is Hoonigan's Latest Creation

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