Air born

Every racecar engineer's dream is a blank sheet of paper design. When Hoonigan and Subaru approached Vermont Sportscars about building the next generation of Gymkhana racer, that's just what the company was given

-  LAWRENCE BUTCHER

Racecars are defined by regulations. From the entry-level kart to F1, the rulebook dictates what can and can't be done, rather than what an engineer may think is the ideal approach. The skill in designing and building a winning racecar is finding every ounce of performance within the rules, but not breaking them.

Throw that rulebook in the bin, though, and things get a whole lot more fun. The result? Cars like this, built by Subaru's works team in the US, Vermont Sportscars (VSC).

The company has a long history of constructing cars to the 'rules, fielding a variety of machines in Rally and Rallycross, but this project was very different.

Initially built for the Gymkhana video franchise (for those not familiar, these were essentially a showcase for driver, Ken Block, sliding around like the 'Hoonigan'he is in various high-profile locations), the franchise is now known as Airslayer, and encompasses more than just videos, while former FMX star, Travis Pastrana, has taken over as wheel man.

Setting the stage

The VT20G is based on a 2020 Subaru WRX STi that VSC uses for its Rally and Rallycross programmes.'Given the initial request from Hoonigan (Block's brand) and Subaru, it was obvious to start from a Rallycross car/explains technical director, Bertrand Vallat, who was chief designer at Hyundai Motorsport prior to his move to Vermont in 2019.'What they wanted from the car in terms of jumping, power, sliding and driveability was very similar to the requirements for Rallycross! However, while this car is similar to a Rallycross version in its underpinnings, it moves the performance to another level. Its turbocharged boxer four engine displaces 2.3-litres (compared to 2.0-litres in RX) and puts out over 850bhp, 200bhp more than even the most potent RX machines.