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Travis Pastrana Brings the Subaru Brat Back to Life in “Aussie Shred”, the Wildest Gymkhana Yet

Nearly three years after the loss of Ken Block, the spirit of Gymkhana remains very much alive—and louder than ever. The latest installment of the Hoonigan-produced series, “Aussie Shred”, hands the keys to longtime daredevil Travis Pastrana, who returns with a machine no one saw coming: a fully reimagined, turbo-huffing Subaru Brat.

Pastrana’s last Gymkhana outing in late 2022 featured a wildly re-engineered Subaru GL Wagon, a build that looked like it had escaped from a parallel universe. But the Brat takes things further—way further. Crafted by the engineering sorcerers at Vermont SportsCar, the Brat isn’t a revival of Subaru nostalgia so much as a feral reinterpretation of it. This thing looks ready to chew through the Outback and spit out red dust.

A Gymkhana Long Overdue for Australia

Australia has been on Gymkhana’s wish list for years. The team once tried to film Gymkhana 9 there, but local authorities balked at the idea of Ken Block tearing up public roads. Times have changed. Attitudes softened. And now the series finally makes landfall on one of Earth’s most visually dramatic playgrounds.

While the full roster of filming locations remains under wraps, the teaser alone promises variety: Pastrana blasting through a mine, slinging the Brat across barren desert, and—most jaw-dropping of all—sending it around Mount Panorama during Bathurst 1000 weekend. If you’ve ever wondered what a purpose-built stunt car looks like on one of motorsports’ most sacred battlegrounds, this episode is your answer.

The Brat, Reborn as a 680-HP Desert Predator

Under its carbon-fiber skin sits a 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four, a Subaru heart cranked to absurdity:

  • 680 horsepower
  • 1,193 Nm of torque
  • A shrieking 9,500-rpm redline

The sound alone sets it apart from every Hoonigan build before it—sharper, angrier, and unmistakably Subaru.

The Brat carries forward the wild active aero tech first seen on Pastrana’s GL Wagon. Massive vents carved into the front wheel arches help stabilize the car during high-speed jumps, and the bodywork—penned by digital-design icon Khyzyl Saleem—mixes retro cues with modern aggression. The livery ties the look together, giving the Brat that perfect blend of tribute and transformation.

A Fitting Tribute to Ken Block

What made Block’s Gymkhana films special wasn’t only the driving—it was the sense of invention, the willingness to make ridiculous ideas real. Pastrana’s new Subaru Brat carries that legacy proudly into unfamiliar territory. Australia’s terrain, from gritty industrial sites to world-famous racetracks, makes the ideal backdrop for the franchise’s next chapter.

“Aussie Shred” drops December 9th, and if the teaser is any indication, this might be one of the most ambitious Gymkhana films ever crafted.

Source: Subaru

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Mulliner’s Dutch Masters Collection Blends Art History With Horsepower

Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum has held its share of masterpieces, but it’s not every day that three one-off Bentleys take their place among Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Van Gogh. At a special event hosted in the museum’s Gallery of Honour, Bentley and its bespoke division, Mulliner, unveiled the Dutch Masters Collection—a trio of Continental GTs that reinterpret the palettes, textures, and symbolism of iconic Dutch art.

More than 200 guests from Bentley’s Dutch dealerships gathered first for a virtual reveal, then for an evening inside the country’s most revered art space—an appropriately dramatic backdrop for cars that blur the line between coachbuilding and canvas.

Car 01: Rembrandt’s “Night Watch” Reimagined

Rembrandt’s 1642 Night Watch never lacked drama, and neither does Mulliner’s corresponding Continental GT Convertible. Draped in Midnight Emerald, the car picks up the painting’s deep shadows, while its interior splashes of Hotspur red riff on Captain Frans Banninck Cocq’s famous sash. A combination of Magnolia and Cumbrian green hides softens the cabin, echoing the lieutenant’s coat and the painting’s muted tones.

Gold organ stops add a subtle baroque flourish, but the real showpiece comes when the door opens at night: an illuminated animation of a floating feather—an Easter egg nodding to the lieutenant’s hat in the center of the canvas. Feather motifs continue across the door cards, set against Dutch Masters badging that reminds you this Bentley is not just a car, but a one-off piece of rolling art.

Car 02: Vermeer’s Light, Captured in Metal and Leather

Few artists command light the way Johannes Vermeer did, and Mulliner’s Vermeer-inspired Continental GT aims to distill that luminance into automotive form. The exterior’s Sapphire satin finish immediately sets a different tone—cool, reflective, almost Delft-like in its purity. A panoramic sunroof ensures daylight floods the cabin just as Vermeer did with his window-lit interiors.

Inside, Beluga and Ocean blue hides establish a calm foundation, broken up by daring flashes of Citric yellow and seat piping in Klein blue. Mulliner looked to Vermeer’s The Little Street for the welcome lamp animation and door card imagery, capturing its rolling clouds with surprising delicacy. The Bentley Rotating Display even receives a hand-painted inner ring and a Klein blue bezel—small touches that elevate the whole car from homage to interpretation.

Car 03: Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” Now in Dark Sapphire and Khamun

If Rembrandt delivered gravitas and Vermeer contributed serenity, then Vincent van Gogh brings emotion—turbulent, color-charged, and unmistakably expressive. Mulliner’s third entry, a Continental GT in Dark Sapphire with Khamun yellow pinstriping, channels the whirling sky of The Starry Night without resorting to mere imitation.

The interior leans heavily on Imperial blue, Dark Sapphire, Linen, and Khamun, a near-direct translation of Van Gogh’s Post-Impressionist palette. Illuminated welcome lamps and etched door panels recreate the painting’s swirling sky, while a dual-finish Piano Linen veneer bisected by a hand-painted Dark Sapphire pinstripe anchors the theme. Open-pore chiselled Walnut across the center console and gold knurled organ stops finish the look with texture and warmth—Van Gogh through a luxury lens.

The Art, Beyond the Cars

Each Dutch Masters Bentley comes with a bespoke presentation key box trimmed in its car’s hides. Open it, and you’ll find laser-etched artwork—feather, clouds, or starry sky—on the inner lid. Mechanically, all three cars share Blackline and Touring specifications, body-colored styling kits, wellness seating, mood lighting, the Bentley Rotating Display, and a Naim for Bentley audio system. In other words: they’re as modern and technologically complete as any Continental GT, just dressed with a level of artistic intention rarely seen in automotive design.

Art Meets Engineering—Literally

Most manufacturers love calling their cars “works of art.” Mulliner’s Dutch Masters Collection is one of the few times that claim holds up to scrutiny. These Continentals don’t merely borrow color palettes—they translate light, iconography, and mood. They’re reinterpretations of three world-famous masterpieces, crafted not for galleries, but for the open road.

And inside the Rijksmuseum, surrounded by centuries of history, these Bentleys didn’t look out of place. That might just be the highest compliment an automotive designer can hope for.

Source: Bentley

News

Waymo Robo-Taxi Rolls Through LAPD Arrest Scene, Raising Questions About AV Street Smarts

Autonomous driving has racked up some serious milestones in the last decade, but even the most advanced systems still have moments that remind us they’re not quite human. Waymo—widely considered one of the frontrunners in the driverless-car race—found itself back in the spotlight this week after one of its robo-taxis wandered into the middle of an active police arrest in Los Angeles.

A now-viral video shows a Waymo vehicle calmly approaching an intersection just as LAPD officers were in the process of detaining a suspect. A pickup truck sits on the side of the road, driver’s door open. The suspect is seen complying with police orders while officers move in. During this, the Waymo vehicle rolls forward, slows, and briefly stops near the scene before continuing through the intersection as if nothing unusual were happening.

According to NBC, the incident occurred around 3:40 a.m., and police later stated that the arrival of the driverless vehicle didn’t alter their tactics. Waymo added that the entire interaction lasted roughly 15 seconds.

“Safety is our highest priority, both for the people who choose to ride with us and for the people we share the streets with,” a Waymo spokesperson said. “When we encounter unusual events like this, we learn from them as we continue to improve road safety and operate in dynamic cities.”

Waymo’s safety record is, by the numbers, one of the strongest in the industry. By mid-2025, its fleet had logged more than 100 million autonomous miles. But public confidence in robo-taxis is a fragile thing, and moments like this—no matter how harmless the outcome—have a way of reigniting the debate over how autonomous vehicles should behave in unpredictable real-world scenarios.

This isn’t Waymo’s first brush with viral awkwardness. Earlier this year, pranksters in San Francisco managed to herd 50 Waymo vehicles into the same intersection, causing a goofy but highly publicized traffic jam. Not long after, a protest in Los Angeles escalated into vandalism that left five Waymo cars burned.

Incidents like these illustrate a strange tension facing the autonomous-driving world. The technology is far more mature than it was even a few years ago, yet it’s still navigating the messy, unscripted reality of human behavior—crime scenes included. The LA arrest didn’t result in danger or interference, but it’s a reminder of a bigger challenge: designing a car that not only understands the rules of the road, but also interprets human unpredictability in real time.

For now, Waymo’s robo-taxis continue to expand service across major cities. As they do, every odd encounter—whether it’s a protest, a prank, or a police stop—becomes another test case in the long road toward autonomy that truly works everywhere, all the time.

Source: NBC

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