When the inaugural Colorado Adventure Rally called for a capable, rally-ready rig, the answer was an STI-swapped Subaru Baja built by a team of teenage gearheads from a Southern California high school car club. Here’s how the Baja XTi came together — and how it performed across 2,000-plus miles of tarmac, gravel, and high-altitude adventure.
Baja Blast: A Rally-Ready Adventure Rig Built by the Next Generation of Gearheads
When fellow Feature Editor (and my wife), Mercedes Lilienthal, and I learned about the inaugural Colorado Adventure Rally—a 600-mile high-elevation tarmac and dirt road rally— we knew we wouldn’t miss it.
We talked with John Peñano, co-owner of Anaheim, California’s, Rally Innovations, about what vehicle to use for the event. He said, “What about a Subaru Baja turbo?” Immediately we were intrigued.
Subaru’s Baja was essentially an Outback pickup made from 2006–2009. Power came from a 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder, either naturally aspirated or turbocharged, and mated to a four-speed auto or five-speed manual transmission.
But the Baja John spoke of was next level. It was WRX STI swapped, made 300 horsepower, and had a six-speed manual. It belonged to his friend who agreed to let us build it up for this rally. How could we say no?
The Build Plan
John suggested we call it the Baja XTi, a mixture of the Baja’s XT trim and the WRX STI engine/transmission. While it had gobs of power, it needed to be reliable, as it’d take us 2,000+ miles from SoCal to Denver and back.
This in addition to completing the 600-mile time-speed-distance (TSD) rally in between, with over 100 miles of dirt/gravel. In addition, this car … er pickup … would need ample ground clearance and be as versatile as a Swiss Army knife.
John, Mercedes, and I put together a plan, and began sourcing parts to build this Baja. It’d be built at Rally Innovations, and students from ZenSpeed, a car club at Placentia’s Valencia High School, would help. A high-performance, gravel-ready Subaru built by burgeoning gearheads?
Subaru of Las Vegas also supported this build and competition.
“When presented with the opportunity, our General Manager, Burton Hughes, responded that it was a ‘natural fit,’” a spokesperson from the dealership told us.
Subaru of Las Vegas was excited to support a project that “reflects the Subaru brand’s rally heritage and community-driven performance culture while involving and inspiring the next generation of car enthusiasts.”
This was going to be amazing, so here is how the build got done.
Lots of Lumens: Auxiliary Lights
Auxiliary lights are always important on an adventure vehicle, and we had plenty, all from Baja Designs. First, Rally Innovations installed a custom version of their Ultimate Light Bar and four Squadron Pro lights onto it.
Next, XLR-Pro amber lights were put into the OEM fog light areas and were about a million times brighter than stock fogs.
Squadron Pro lights were used for ditch lights to illuminate the roadside, and to control everything, the car had an sPOD Source LT with Mini6 controller.
A Custom Roof Rack & Wrap
The Baja’s roof wore a custom roof rack designed by Rally Innovations and Leitner Designs. This one-of-a-kind product was home to our MAXTRAX Lite recovery boards and a Baja Designs OnX6+ light bar.
Two Baja Designs S1 Black amber lights were mounted on the rack’s rear. A host of 3D printed parts made the rack fully functional and looked stellar.
Minor bodywork was done at Bumper Master before the event, and vinyl graphics were added at Rally Innovations by the ZenSpeed students, giving it a racy rally style.
Rally Rollers
The Subie rolled on matte bronze 15x7 Black Rhino Volls, adding to its rally-ready good looks. The wheels were wrapped in 215/75R15 Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail tires for a mix of low on-road noise and dirt-road traction.
They were about 1” taller than the factory rubber, adding more clearance under the differentials. To keep gravel down, the Baja also wore Rokblokz mudflaps.
With around 300 horsepower, stopping was extra important. So, the Baja got upgraded brakes via R1 Concepts’ eLINE Black Series slotted rotors and Performance Sport Pads.
Shocks and Awe
The rally included 100+ miles of gravel competition, so we wanted extra ground clearance. Rally Innovations turned to RalliTEK. They supplied KYB Excel-G shocks/struts with billet aluminum spacers, and their custom spec’d coil springs, which provided 2” of lift.
The rear springs had a higher spring rate to compensate for the load in the bed (more on that in a moment). RalliTEK also sent Megan Racing’s adjustable rear control arms and toe arms for further adjustability.
Armored Up
The Baja had additional armor, also courtesy of RalliTEK. Their front skid plate was installed to help protect the engine’s underside, and a custom Rally Innovations front skid plate lip was also added.
Rally Innovations’ custom door sill guards helped protect the OEM plastic sills from gravel and other hazards.
Bed Time
One of the coolest features was a custom-fabricated bed cage. We carried two extra full-size spares secured Speed Straps, and a three-ton off-road jack on it.
We also had PRP Seats’ cage-mounted Buggy Bags as well as a tool bag for extra items like wrenches, oil, Gorilla tape, and zip ties.
Under-Hood Hop-Ups
As if an STI engine swap wasn’t enough, a few added upgrades were under the hood. This included a K&N cold air intake for added power, an Optima YellowTop battery to help power all those extra lights, and the sPOD tying in the electrical accessories.
An aftermarket blow-off valve was also there, letting you and everyone around you know when you were shifting under full throttle.
But the Baja’s builders are even more impressive than the build itself.
ZenSpeed: A High School Car Club & Internship
Much of this Baja’s work was done by members of ZenSpeed, a student car club at Valencia High School in Placentia, CA.
Some of these students also intern at Rally Innovations during the summer. They learn about working on cars, motorsports, and how a small business works.
Kai Lopez, 17, is the President of ZenSpeed, and one of the students who worked on the Baja. He said he appreciated the opportunity, noting it’s not every day students get to work on a car of this caliber that’s a future SEMA Show build.
“That’s a lot of trust they’re putting into us,” said Kai. “Being able to work with this car and see how it transformed … is just such a blessing,” he said.
Jacelle Peñano, 17, is ZenSpeed’s Vice President and the daughter of Rally Innovations’ owners, John and Leicel Peñano. When not helping at the shop, she’s active in ZenSpeed.. Her did she like about the Baja build?
“My favorite part was definitely somewhere in the process, installing the suspension, installing the arms,” she explained. “It doesn’t matter how much previous experience you have wrenching on cars, as long as your enthusiasm is there and you’re just willing to learn and absorb new information.”
Danny Camino is also 17. He did a host of CAD work using SolidWorks for the Baja. This included designing brackets for a differential plate and the sPOD controller holder, among various parts installs.
“I’ve always been interested in automotive things since I was a child with my uncles in the garage,” he said. “This was an opportunity that I really enjoyed,” he stated. “[Rally Innovations] really helped me refine my skills and make them more polished,” he explained. “The Peñanos have been very helpful; very kind and they’ve showed me lots.”
In addition to the students, Jet Peñano (ZenSpeed founder and John and Leicel’s son), put lots of time and effort into the Baja. He, as well as Jacelle, have been the face of Rally Innovations’ social media. Simon Angier, ZenSpeed’s project manager, also played a major role.
Everyone involved was thrilled at how well the Baja looked and performed. Mercedes and I were honored to have been a part of the entire Baja build process.
A Successful Subaru Rally Ride
After months of planning and building, Mercedes and I flew from Portland, OR to Anaheim, CA, in July, drove the Baja to Colorado, competed in the rally, then drove it back to Anaheim in time for Subiefest California.
It performed perfectly through scorching 108°F temperatures, rainstorms, and elevations of up to 11,990 ft.—and turned heads doing so.
Everything worked like it should to create a very good high-performance Subaru. Whether on tarmac or dirt, the Baja begged to be driven hard and always came back for more.
Even on gravel, the Baja clawed at the earth for traction, its audible turbo whine and blow-off valve bellowing with each shift. But it was surprisingly comfortable, too.
Thankfully the car had air conditioning and cruise control, and both worked like new. Since the bed was occupied by tires and a jack, our gear had to go in the back seat. Thankfully, we packed light.
We just missed the podium in our class, taking 4th place, despite leading most of the rally. It was a highly competitive event, but one of our best performances.
The overall experience driving this Baja for an epic trip and epic rally was awesome. Meeting the students who helped build this vehicle made us proud.
The future of outdoor vehicle recreation wrenched on this build. Budding gearheads from all walks of life came together to make one bad Baja, and it gave us an adventure we’ll never forget.
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