Folks like us do some pretty silly things in the name of performance. Whether its justifying the purchase of a new Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio as a “family car,” or breaking your back running coilovers on the daily driver for a few seconds per lap on the weekends, you wouldn’t be wrong for calling our perspective “skewed” at best. That said, where there’s a will, there’s a way, as evidenced by this intrepid young Subaru driver’s unorthodox approach to boosting horsepower. Documented in a short five-minute, 21-second video from our friends over at 1320 Video, the Subaru in question is a mostly stock early 2000’s Forester running flat out at the Pikes Peak Airstrip Attack event at the Colorado Springs Airport. In a bid to crest the 100-mph mark, the driver fabricated a new intake from a Pringles can and cereal box, plumbing it through the headlight for a budget-friendly ram air effect. The result is just enough extra power to reach three digits, making this driver our new hero.

Never mind the Mustangs and Vipers this kid is running against. We’re much more interested in the box-shaped, 15-year-old grocery getter chipping away for a personal record. This is real enthusiasm, people, and it’s infectious. Fingers crossed the owner continues to have fun for years to come.

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The Full Story

In an age of multi-million dollar hypercars, it’s easy to forget what all this is really about – having a good time. Sure, you can make it serious and get all wrapped up in spending more and more to be the fastest and the best, but at the end of the day, there’s always gonna be someone out there with deeper pockets and a faster ride. The focus instead should be on the self – how do I go faster? Not only that, but how can I do it in a way that’s clever and interesting?

This kid gets it. It takes me back to my early days, when taking out the air filter and removing the muffler on the family hatchback was enough to make it feel like a rocket ship.

What are your best duct tape engineering stories? Let us know in the comments.

Referencs

Read our review on the 2006 Subaru Forrester or, if you're interested in the most recent model, you can check out the 2015 - 2017 Subaru Forester.