Pro skateboarder and rally driver Bucky Lasek made yet another appearance on “Jay Leno’s Garage,” and this time he brought one of his daily drivers along: A 2016 Subaru WRX STI with a healthy amount of modifications, which Lasek was more than happy to detail.
For those unfamiliar with Lasek, he made his name in the professional skateboarding world in the late-1980s through the 1990s. In 2012, Subaru chose him to compete in the Global RallyCross Championship, where he placed second and third throughout his career with the team. He left the team in 2016, and the Global RallyCross series folded earlier this year after money troubles.
The skateboarder and racer’s WRX STI features a larger turbocharger, a unique hood, gurney flaps, Cobb exhaust, and some nifty side mirrors. Lasek said the modifications help the WRX STI make around 400 horsepower at the wheels, which is far greater than the stock 305-horsepower flywheel output. As a side note, he said he’s begun to build a new car — a 1998 Subaru Impreza WRX — with a 2016 WRX STI’s engine. He said he wants to try and take the 2016 model and shove it into the 1998 model, which sounds excellent to us.
Leno found a lot to like when he slid behind the wheel of the car. He commented the WRX STI’s flat-4 engine reminds him of a small V8 with the way it delivers power. That’s certainly thanks to the turbocharger and not the natural displacement and power from the engine on its own.
