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Travis Pastrana Sets Mount Washington Hillclimb Record In Rally-prepped Subaru

The Subaru WRX STI, like all rally-bred sedans with all-wheel-drive and forced-induction propulsion, is one hell of a weapon in the right hands. Travis Pastrana is one of those people with the right skills, and in his hands, the STI has set a new record on the grueling Mt. Washington Hillclimb.
Mount Washington Hillclimb record set by Subaru and Travis Pastrana 9 photos
Photo: Subaru
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A professional rally driver by craft, Travis Pastrana is the asset of Subaru Rally Team USA. The 33-year-old professional managed to speed up to the summit of Mount Washington Auto Road in 5 minutes and 44.72 seconds. That’s more than 24 seconds faster than the previous record (6m9.09s), which was set by Pastrana’s teammate, the Brit David Higgins, in 2014.

Don’t dismiss Higgins for not being capable of bettering his own record. In fact, the man tried to set a lower time than three years ago, but Higgins slid wide five miles into his ascent of Mt. Washington, going off course. The driver was unharmed in the incident, but the car couldn’t carry on.

“It was going really well up until it went really bad,” commented Higgins. “But there is no better person to lose my record to than Travis. I’m really happy for him and the job the team has done.” Pastrana, in return, returned the favor as follows: “I can’t say enough how fun these cars are to drive, and thank Subaru for providing one to me. I hope this record can stand for a little while.” Cheeky he may be, but the new record entitles Pastrana to be so.

One of the oldest auto races in North America, the “Climb to the Clouds” starts at an altitude of 1,604 feet (489 meters) and climaxes at 6,288 feet (1,908 meters). That’s an immense task for both human and machine, driving as one on an average gradient of 11.8 percent over the course of 7.6 miles (12.9 kilometers). The car is no slouch either, for Pastrana’s WRX STI develops 600 horsepower from a four-cylinder boxer engine.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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