Students Build Custom Subarus for Colorado Adventure Rally, Alcan 5000
June 17, 2026
This summer, journalists, rallyists and adventurers Andy and his wife, Mercedes Lilienthal, will travel over 10,000 miles while participating in two major road rallies and overland adventures in the U.S. and Canada. They’ll do so in two custom Subarus built at Rally Innovations in Anaheim, California.
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, company officials stated in a press release. 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. The couple will then drive back to their home in Portland, Oregon, from Fairbanks, Alaska.
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, noted the release.
Custom 2006 Subaru Baja ‘XTi’ Takes On the Inaugural Colorado Adventure Rally
The inaugural Colorado Adventure Rally, a Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) event, will be held July 16-19 starting in Denver and ending in Idaho Springs, Colorado. The 2006 Subaru Baja “XTi” features a tuned WRX STI Type RA engine swap mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, along with many other 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, the Lilienthals will participate in the three-day, 600-mile time-speed-distance (TSD) rally, 1/6 of which is off pavement. After CAR, the team will travel from Colorado back to Anaheim for part two of their summer rally and overland adventure.
Modified 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness Built for the Alcan 5000’s 6,300-Mile Challenge
The second part of the Lilienthals’ summer rally saga will be in a 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness, provided by Subaru of America. It’s also built by ZenSpeed at Rally Innovations using premium aftermarket upgrades to ensure it can withstand the Alcan 5000’s brutal roads, officials said. 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 on July 25 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, in Rally Innovations’ booth.
Next, the Lilienthals will drive the Forester Wilderness from Anaheim to Portland to prep for the Alcan 5000 Rally. This will be the duo’s fifth Alcan 5000 TSD event, where they’re seeking a third consecutive first-place class finish.
The Alcan 5000 Rally starts in Kirkland, Washington, and treks to Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada, on the Arctic Ocean, finishing in Fairbanks over 6,300 miles and 11 days later. First run in 1984, the Alcan 5000 is the longest rally in North America and attracts participants from all over North America.
After the rally’s completion, the Lilienthals will drive the Forester Wilderness from Fairbanks back to Portland, documenting their overland adventures along the way.
Sponsors & Aftermarket Partners Behind the 2 Builds
- Baja Designs
- Black Rhino Wheels (Hoonigan)
- Leitner Designs
- Primitive Racing
- Rally Innovations
- Subaru of Las Vegas
- Subaru of America
- Bumper Master
- Falken Tires
- Frank’s Auto Service
- K&N Engineering
- MAXTRAX
- OPTIMA Batteries
- RalliTEK
- PRP Seats
- R1 Concepts
- RFC Industries
- RokBlokz
- Rolotech Car Wraps
- ShopTPMS
- SpeedStrap
- sPOD
- Wheel Pros
Follow Along the Adventures Online
Those wanting to follow the Lilienthals’ 10,000-plus mile-long adventures can follow them on social media at @crankshaftculture (Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, YouTube and TikTok). Their website, crankshaftculture.com, will also have updates.
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