The Gymkhana series turned Ken Block into a global sensation back in 2008 by mixing outrageous precision driving with pure cinematic energy. Seventeen years later, it’s back with a new chapter that swaps continents, brings in Travis Pastrana, showcases some jaw-dropping Australian backdrops, and puts a wild Subaru Brat front and centre. Say hello to Aussie Shred.
To pull it off, Hoonigan worked with Subaru Motorsports USA, delivering the kind of high-adrenaline stunts fans expect and kicking things off in spectacular fashion.
Pastrana launches his 670 hp (500 kW) Subaru Brat over a massive Australian road train in the middle of the desert before blasting into a classic small-town setting.
There’s even a nod to the very first Gymkhana. Instead of doughnuts around someone on a Segway, this time the rider is dressed as a kangaroo. Because of course they are.
From there, the chaos escalates. Pastrana slices through the streets with surgical drifts before heading to one of motorsport’s most legendary venues: Mount Panorama, the battleground for the Bathurst 1000.
What happens next is the film’s big highlight. As a pack of Australian Supercars charges across the mountain, Pastrana slides onto the track and goes wheel-to-wheel with them like he belongs on the grid.
He links a series of clean drifts through the most unforgiving corners, then lines up against a Camaro-based Supercar for a rolling drag race down the long straight.
Once the Bathurst dust settles, the action shifts to Sydney, where the Brat gets unleashed on the city streets and a waterside wharf, letting its custom turbocharged 2.0-litre engine scream in a way no Gymkhana car has before.
Brian Scotto, Hoonigan co-founder and director of the series, explained that Australia had been high on their wishlist for years. Anti-hoon laws blocked Gymkhana Nine from happening there, but the situation has changed.
He says the return to Australia, combined with this being Pastrana’s final appearance in the franchise, gave the team something to prove. That unfinished business only fueled the desire to push every limit, both on screen and behind the camera.
