Watch Travis Pastrana Destroy a Hillclimb Course Record

By Chris Chase

Jul 19, 2017

Cool Stuff / Fun Stuff / Pop Culture

Cool Stuff / Fun Stuff / Pop Culture

Summary

Don't look down.

World-class rally driver and all-around crazy man Travis Pastrana took a run at a record time up the Mount Washington hillclimb in a 600-hp Subaru WRX STI, and suffice it to say the record didn't stand a chance.

According to Automobile magazine, the time to beat was the six-minute, nine-second run up the 7.6-mile (12.23 km) set by another Subaru driver, David Higgins, three years ago. And Pastrana destroyed it recently, racing to the summit in a little less than five minutes and 45 seconds, knocking a solid 24 seconds off the standing record.

Pastrana's ride was a hybrid of sorts, with chassis tuning to match Subaru's rally cars, but powered by the engine from the company's rally cross car.

Regarding his record-setting run, Pastrana told Automobile's Jonathon Klein he considers the New Hampshire road course one of the toughest to drive in the world, and that he's sure he could have crossed the line in even less time had he not gotten sideways as much as he did. In the video below, he comments that the car "got loose at the top," which sounds like exactly the opposite of what you want on a dirt/gravel road with a steep drop-off on one side.

Check out the video below to imagine yourself in the driver's seat, trying not to be distracted by the stunning views of the White Mountains.

Meet the Author

As a child, Chris spent most of his time playing with toy cars in his parents’ basement or making car sounds while riding his bicycle. Now he's an award-winning Algonquin College Journalism grad who has been playing with real cars that make their own noises since the early 2000s.