You know how some people restore old Subarus with a new paint job and a nice set of alloys? Yeah, Travis Pastrana doesn’t do that. Instead, he and the lunatics at Hoonigan, together with the wizards at Vermont Sportscar, have turned a humble Subaru Brat — the quirky ‘70s pick-up with jump seats in the bed — into a full-blown, fire-breathing stunt weapon.

They call it the Brataroo, and if that name doesn’t already sound like it belongs in a cartoon explosion, wait until you hear what it can do.

Gone is the Brat’s plucky 1.6-litre engine that once produced as much power as a leaf blower. In its place sits a turbocharged 2.0-litre flat-four tuned to within an inch of its life. The result? 670 horsepower, 680lb ft of torque, and a redline that screams all the way past 9500rpm. That’s almost ten times the power the original ever dreamed of — and it’s still got a bed in the back.

Built by Vermont Sportscar, the same team responsible for Pastrana’s Subaru WRX rally monsters, the Brataroo is less a restoration and more a complete reimagining of what a Subaru Brat could be — if it were designed by someone with a Red Bull IV drip and a personal grudge against tyres.

The body is pure carbonfibre, bristling with active aerodynamic devices. Think of it as a stunt driver’s version of a fighter jet: movable flaps and fins that tweak the car’s attitude mid-flight. Literally. When Pastrana sends it skyward during one of his trademark jumps, the Brataroo’s aero system automatically adjusts to keep it flat, balanced, and camera-ready. Because of course it does.

And it’s not all tech and terror. There’s a surprisingly artistic side to this lunacy. Inside, the Brat’s old wooden trim has been reinterpreted with flax-composite panels, giving a nod to the original’s rustic charm while still looking like it belongs in a spaceship. The air-conditioning controls? They now adjust the active aero system. Because cooling off is less important than perfecting your trajectory through the air at 90mph.

This outrageous contraption will make its debut in the next Gymkhana film, shot in Australia, where Pastrana will presumably spend several days trying to turn the outback into a cloud of shredded Michelin rubber.

In a world where most “restomods” aim for tasteful nostalgia and Sunday cruising, the Brataroo is a middle finger to subtlety — a 670bhp rally-bred pick-up designed for the sole purpose of defying physics and looking heroic while doing it.

And that’s exactly why we love it.

Source: Autocar