This summer, we’ll travel over 10,000 miles while participating in two major road rallies and overland adventures in the U.S. and Canada. We’ll do so in two custom Subaru rally cars built at Rally Innovations in Anaheim, CA. ZenSpeed GRP, a club for automotive enthusiasts attending California’s Valencia High School, is primarily doing the builds. This club focuses on core aspects of the automotive industry, like building and modifying cars, understanding automotive lifestyle demographics, and how cars can bring people together. ZenSpeed’s mission is to inform and make students more involved in their school’s automotive community.
The first car is a customized 2006 Subaru Baja “XTi” which will enter the inaugural Colorado Adventure Rally (CAR) in July. The second is a modified 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness (vehicle provided by Subaru of America), which will run the Alcan 5000 Rally in September. We’ll then drive back home to Portland, OR, from Fairbanks, AK, offering up even more adventure.
Builder, Rally Innovations, is owned by husband-and-wife team John and Leicel Peñano. They offer products for the rally and sport-compact markets. They’re long-time car and rally enthusiasts with over 20 years of experience in the automotive research and development industry. The Peñanos, including son, Jet (ZenSpeed Founder), daughter, Jacelle (ZenSpeed Vice President), and ZenSpeed interns, Kai Lopez (Current President), Danny Camino, Konhee Lee, and Simon Angier (Project Manager), are playing key roles in building both vehicles.
The Colorado Adventure Rally in a Custom 2006 Subaru Baja “XTi”
The inaugural Colorado Adventure Rally (CAR) will be held July 16–19. It starts in Denver and ends in Idaho Falls, CO. It’s a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) event. The 2006 Subaru Baja “XTi” features a tuned WRX STI Type RA engine swap mated to a six-speed manual transmission. It’ll have a slew of upgrades from lights and racks to skid plates and suspension. It’ll also feature custom livery.
After receiving the Baja and driving 1,000 miles from California to Colorado, we will participate in the three-day, 600-mile time-speed-distance (TSD) rally. A total of 1/6 of is off pavement. After CAR, we’re going to travel from Colorado back to Anaheim. That’s where part two of our summer rally and overland adventure starts.
Alcan 5000 Rally in a Modified 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness
The second part of our summer rally saga will be in a 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness. The vehicle will be provided by Subaru of America. It’s also built by ZenSpeed at Rally Innovations using premium aftermarket upgrades. This will ensure it can withstand the Alcan 5000’s brutal roads. A custom roof rack, upgraded brakes, auxiliary lighting, and underbody protection are just a few of its modifications.
Along with the Baja XTi, the Forester Wilderness will make its debut at Subiefest California. The events is on July 25 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA. It will be in Rally Innovations’ booth.
Next, we’ll drive the Forester Wilderness from Anaheim to Portland, OR, to prep for the Alcan 5000 Rally. This will be our fifth Alcan 5000 TSD event, where we’re seeking a third consecutive first-place class finish.
The Alcan 5000 Rally starts in Kirkland, WA, and treks to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, Canada on the Arctic Ocean. It will finish in Fairbanks, AK over 6,300 miles and 11 days later. First run in 1984, the Alcan 5000 is the longest rally in North America. It attracts participants from all over North America. And yes, we’ve been to Tuk before, but only in the winter, so we’re excited to see it in the summer/fall.
After the rally’s completion, we will pilot the Forester Wilderness from Fairbanks back to Portland, documenting our overland adventures along the way.
A Host of Partners Are Helping to Make This Happen
We’d like to expressively thank Baja Designs, Black Rhino Wheels (Hoonigan), Leitner Designs, Primitive Racing, Rally Innovations, Subaru of Las Vegas, Subaru of America, and ZenSpeed for their instrumental support in making this combined effort happen.
Other build partners include Bumper Master, Falken Tires, Franks’s Auto Service, K&N Engineering, MAXTRAX, OPTIMA Batteries, RalliTEK, PRP Seats, R1 Concepts, RFC Industries, RokBlokz, Rolotech Car Wraps, ShopTPMS, SpeedStrap, sPOD, and Wheel Pros.
Follow Along Online
Those wanting to come along on our 10,000+ mile-long adventures can follow us on social media at @crankshaftculture (Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, YouTube, TikTok). We’ll also keep you updated here.
About Rally Innovations
Rally Innovations is a leader in innovative designs and quality products for the growing rally and sport compact market. They’re a company of long-time car and rally enthusiasts with over two decades of experience in the automotive research and development industry. Their dedication ensures their products are well-engineered and unmatched in quality. Improving safety and efficiency is always a primary consideration in this process. For every product, they take great care to create clean designs that complement the look of each vehicle. Rally Innovations is headquartered in Anaheim, CA.
About ZenSpeed GRP
ZenSpeed GRP is a community of students who appreciate automotive culture. They focus on core elements of the automotive industry like building and modifying cars, to understanding demographics of automotive lifestyles, along with what cars mean and how they can bring people together. They’re not just a car club, they’re a family.
Andy Lilienthal is an award-winning writer and has written professionally since 1999. He has over 15 years in the automotive aftermarket working at companies including Warn Industries, Bushwacker, and Lund International. Editorial works include writing and photography for off-road print magazines, to new-car reviews online. He’s a photographer with images in multiple magazines, blog sites, and The New York Times.
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