About Crawford Performance Subaru Performance Parts and Ken Block 43
Subaru performance, engineered since 1995
Crawford Performance started as a small family-owned shop in Southern California. Three decades later, we're an international brand, and we still operate by the same rule we started with: don't fix what isn't broken.
We design and manufacture performance components for Subaru platforms across the WRX, STI, BRZ, Crosstrek, Impreza, and Forester lines — built for the race track, the street, and off-road.
The race track is our R&D department
Since 1995, we've used competition to develop and prove our parts. Every component we sell has been pushed past its limits before it reaches a customer's car. If a part doesn't offer measurable performance or improved reliability, it doesn't go in the catalog.
We don't believe in long build lists for the sake of bragging rights. Subaru's OEM engineering is genuinely good, and we don't modify components that would compromise reliability or longevity. The parts we make exist because we couldn't buy a better version somewhere else.
Factory-backed by Subaru of America
Crawford Performance is the only aftermarket parts manufacturer to ever be factory-backed by Subaru of America — a relationship that continues today.
That partnership has produced some of the most recognized Subaru builds in the sport:
The world's fastest Subaru Impreza (2008). Built in partnership with Subaru of America — our orange time-attack champion, "Tony the Tiger," originally driven by Eiji "Tarzan" Yamada. At her peak, she produced 850 HP/TQ and set the benchmark for what a new-age STI could do. She resides today at our East Coast facility.
Gymkhana One and Two. Built for the late Ken Block, then a Subaru rally driver, who came to us looking for a car with rally-grade control and the diversity to corner, drift, and accelerate through the entire curve. The two videos that followed — Gymkhana Practice and Gymkhana Two: The Infomercial — changed how the world saw Subaru in the performance world. Ken's legacy is part of who we are, and our Ken Block 43 Collection carries that work forward.
The Crosstrek Desert Racer. What started as a Class 5 Unlimited buggy build for Grabowski Brothers Racing in 2017 became the Subaru-backed Crosstrek Desert Racer — wrapped in Subaru Motorsports USA livery and competing across the country. It also became the foundation for our entire off-road and overland program.
From the BRZ to the FA20 turbo
When Subaru released the BRZ in 2012 with the new FA20 engine, we had the first one apart almost immediately. The FA was nothing like the EJ — high compression, naturally aspirated, and built for a different purpose. Our background is in forced induction, so the first job was making the motor strong enough to handle the power we planned to put through it.
Crawford was the first company to successfully run a turbo on the BRZ / FR-S / GT86 platform, and the first to offer a built FA turbo block. More than a decade later, the FA continues to prove its worth.
What we focus on now
Racing is in our team's history, but our focus today is on components engineered for any Subaru owner — whether they race or not. Decades of testing in the extremes have allowed us to refine parts that reduce oil consumption, extend engine life, and improve fuel economy on the cars our customers actually drive every day.
That's the work. That's what we sell.
See the shop
Garage Tours with Chris Forsberg visited our facility — the video is below.