When famous Gymkhana stunt pilot Travis Pastrana had his insane 875-horsepower Subaru WRX STI built, the focus was on stunt driving and not drag racing. Despite that, the car has fared exceptionally well in both disciplines so far – that is, until now.
A recent race saw the unhinged WRX STI going up against a heavily tuned Nissan GT-R, whose twin-turbo six-banger was bored out to 4.3 liters of displacement and outfitted with gigantic dual turbos, to say nothing of dozens of other mods. Radial tires help convey nearly 1,200 horsepower (895 kilowatts) to the tarmac.
In the first run across 305 meters (1,000ft), Pastrana courts a lucky start from his Sadev sequential gearbox and pulls confidently ahead of his rival, but the Nissan comes calling shortly afterwards and ultimately wins the race. The second run across 152 meters (500ft) sees the famous pilot fiddle with the gears slightly longer, and the dual-clutch box of his opponent nets him another victory.