By Jonathan Welsh

Subaru
David Higgins slides toward a new Mt. Washington Hillclimb record.

Subaru released video of its rally-team driver David Higgins attempting to set a new record in the long-running Mt. Washington Hillclimb in New Hampshire.

Higgins completed the course in six minutes and 11.54 seconds, which is almost half a minute faster than the previous record of set by rally driver Frank Sprongl in 1998.  Higgins’ time also beat the unofficial record  of 6:20.47 set by motocross and rally ace Travis Pastrana last year.  Higgins drove a Subaru WRX STi rally car prepared by Vermont Sports Cars.

In the Mt. Washington competition, which was first run in 1904, vehicles race to the 6,288 summit of the tallest peak in the Northeast U.S. The event has helped the region become a hotbed of rally racing activity which has traditionally been more popular in Europe than in the U.S.

Higgins beat the old record by more than 20 seconds on his first attempt and shaved another eight seconds during a second run. You can watch the video of Higgins’ drive here. In June Subaru released video of Higgins setting a new record on the Isle of Man TT racing course.