We’re tackling over 10,000 miles in three weeks with a specially built modified Subaru. This time, we’re enlisting the help of ZenSpeed GRP—a club for automotive enthusiasts at Valencia High School in Placentia, California—to build a customized 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness under the expert supervision of Rally Innovations in Anaheim, California.
Students Build One-of-a-Kind 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness for 10,000+ Miles of Overland Adventures Plus This Year’s Alcan 5000 Rally
We are tackling over 10,000 miles in three weeks with a specially built modified Subaru.
This time, we’re enlisting the help of ZenSpeed GRP, a club for automotive enthusiasts attending California’s Valencia High School in Placentia, CA, to build a customized 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness for our North American adventures, under the expert supervision and guidance of Rally Innovations, owned by husband-and-wife, John and Leicel Peñano, in Anaheim, CA.
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.
This summer, my husband and fellow Feature Editor, Andy Lilienthal, and I, Mercedes Lilienthal, will travel over 10,000 miles while participating in North America’s summer Alcan 5000 Rally that’ll travel to the Arctic Ocean and above two Arctic Circles, as well as the subsequent overland adventure driving from the competition’s finish at Fairbanks, Alaska to our home in Portland, Oregon.
Tackling 10,000+ miles of varied and sometimes extreme terrain in the Arctic and Alaska is the ultimate way to test Subaru’s latest Wilderness model. It’s also a great way to test various prototype products and the aftermarket’s latest upgrades for this overland rally vehicle.
From glaciers and gravel to terrible tarmac and beyond, this’ll be an adventure never to be forgotten.
The Next Generation of Automotive Enthusiasts
ZenSpeed focuses on core aspects of the automotive industry. This includes building and modifying cars, understanding automotive lifestyle and their demographics, and how cars bring people together. The organization’s mission is to inform and get students more involved in their school’s automotive community.
We’re stoked to work with ZenSpeed and Rally Innovations to help mentor these students as the next generation of vehicle builders and automotive enthusiasts. It’s key to help pay it forward so those first getting into the field can learn from those that’ve been in the industry for years or decades.
The Lilienthal’s Modified 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness
This year’s vehicle is graciously provided by Subaru of America; a manufacturer Andy and I know well and have partnered with on a wide array of projects.
We first tackled the 2022 Alcan 5000 Rally together in a slightly modified Outback Wilderness when it first debuted.
We subsequently went on tour with Subaru and that vehicle for the following two years as part of their corporate booth.
We then completed a trans-continental trek across the United States via the TransAmerica Trail and a customized 2025 Crosstrek Wilderness, to the tune of 29 days and 7,163 total miles (3,184 off-road), averaging 25 MPH.
This year, our test vehicle is a 2026 Forester Wilderness that’ll be built by ZenSpeed students at Rally Innovations.
This Subaru will feature premium aftermarket upgrades to ensure it can withstand the Arctic and Alaska’s brutal roads, plus the rigors of driving it home from Fairbanks to Portland “the scenic way.” We appreciate Subaru of America’s support!
The 2026 Forester Wilderness will showcase a wide array of key upgrades. Many of which are by U.S.-based manufacturers and companies.
Rally Innovations Build Partner
California-based Rally Innovations is a leader in innovative designs and quality products for the growing rally and sport compact market. They’re long-time car and rally enthusiasts with over 20 years of expertise in the automotive research and development industry.
Rally Innovations’ dedication ensures their products are well-engineered and unmatched in quality. We can attest to that by testing their products over tens of thousands of miles of dirt, gravel, and tarmac.
Rally Innovations takes great pride in creating clean designs that complement the look of each vehicle, including the prototype light bar mount we’ll be testing on our grand expedition.
Leitner Designs / Rally Innovations Prototype ACS ROOF Platform Rack
Based in Corona, California, Leitner Designs is well known in the overlanding world for manufacturing high-quality, durably made roof rack systems and related accessories. Founded in 2007, Leitner Designs first helped companies develop innovative products for their target market.
However, in 2014, Leitner Designs shifted its focus from being a design firm into manufacturing its own line of truck accessories. It’s since grown to include a wide line-up of products for trucks, SUVs, and now Subaru.
Rally Innovations and Leitner Designs are joining forces to create an all-new prototype ACS ROOF Platform Rack for the Forester Wilderness.
This aluminum platform will carry essential expedition gear: Leitner’s ACS GearPOD storage boxes for organized equipment access, two sets of MAXTRAX MKII vehicle recovery boards for self-extraction from mud or snow, and five gallons of supplemental fuel for extended range between fuel stops.
Primitive Racing Front, Mid, and Rear Skid Plates
From up top to down below, Primitive Racing is all about vehicle protection and suspension components to make them more capable. Primitive is based in Tigard, Oregon and designs and manufactures many products there.
They primarily outfit Subarus with thick, expertly designed aluminum skid plates and suspension kits, both of which we run on our personal customized 2022 Subaru Crosstrek (6MT) .
Andy and I will be running Primitive’s front, mid, and rear diff skid plates, which are made from which are made from 3/16” 5052 aluminum. They’ll help protect the underbody from unforeseen hazards.
Note: The rear differential skid plate is also a great jack point should you need to replace a tire or service the vehicle’s underside.
These skid plates add approximately 30 pounds to the vehicle but provide crucial protection for the engine, transmission, and differentials—components that would cost thousands to repair in remote locations where towing isn’t an option.
Baja Designs Auxiliary LED Lighting
Lighting becomes critical when navigating unfamiliar terrain in low-visibility conditions. For this build, we turned to Baja Designs for a comprehensive lighting solution.
Baja Designs is a premier aftermarket auxiliary lighting company that has a wide array of high-quality LED lighting for trucks, SUVs, and more.
They’re located in San Marcos, California and they know lumens. We’ve run Baja Designs’ lights on the 2025 TransAmerica Trail Crosstrek Wilderness, a 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport, and our soon-to-be 2026 Forester Wilderness.
Our overlanding Forester Wilderness will feature a host of Baja Designs lights, including four XL-R LEDs on the Rally Innovations prototype light bar mount.
Two Baja Designs Driving/Combo lights with clear lenses will sit on top of the bar. Two XL-R 80 LEDs in Wide Cornering with amber lenses will reside on the bottom. Squadron-R 2.0 Pro, S2 Sport, S1, and S8 LEDs will also be used. Baja Designs’ Reflex Light Actuator will be used for the XL-R Pro lights.
Arctic summer means near-24-hour daylight, but the return journey through Alaska and Canada in late summer will require reliable lighting for wildlife avoidance and navigation on unmarked trails.
Black Rhino 17x8 Voll Wheels
The right wheels can make the difference between completing a stage and suffering a failure. Black Rhino’s rally-inspired designs offer the durability this expedition demands.
Black Rhino is part of the Hoonigan brand of families, and we’re featuring 17x8 Black Rhino Voll Wheels on our Forester Wilderness overland build. Volls are lightweight and precisely crafted using flow-formed technology.
The Black Rhino Voll wheels feature a rally-inspired multi-spoke design boasting compound curve spoke ends for increased strength as well as a dirt-shedding lip—perfect for tackling several hundred miles of dirt and muck in the Arctic region and Alaska.
Its design includes a recessed, stepped bowl as well as webbed windows for the ultimate in durability. The Black Rhino Volls fit a wide range of applications, from six-lug trucks and high-offset fitments for crossovers.
Subaru of Las Vegas
“Subaru of Las Vegas has been instrumental in supplying us our latest Subaru vehicles without the hassle of markups or reeling you in for long vehicle purchase negotiations,” said John Peñano, co-founder of Rally Innovations.
“They’re straight to the point and have always given us great customer service.” Peñano added that Subaru of Las Vegas offers him a “true and satisfying experience” when buying new or used vehicles.
When Subaru of Las Vegas was presented with the opportunity to support our venture, the General Manager, Burton Hughes, responded that it was a “natural fit.”
Hughes and team are 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.
Supporting Sponsors
Other quality build partners include:
- Falken Tires: Wildpeak A/T Trail tires
- K&N Engineering: air intake kit
- MAXTRAX: MKII vehicle recovery boards
- Optima Batteries: YellowTop battery
- PRP: interior storage bags
- R1 Concepts: slotted rotors and brake pads
- Rolotech Car Wraps: vinyl vehicle wrap
- Shop TPMS: tire pressure sensors
- sPOD: Source LT w/ Mini 6 Switch Controller
- SpeedStrap: recovery straps
- Wheel Pros: tuner-style black lug nuts
Together, ZenSpeed students, Rally Innovations, Subaru of America, and our build partners are working hard to make this 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness ready for us for one heck of an overland adventure.
Where to See the Completed Build
This vehicle will debut in the Rally Innovations’ booth at this year’s Subiefest California show in Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA.
It’ll debut alongside another customized Subaru we’re working on that’ll compete in the Colorado Adventure Rally and also be revealed there.
Following the Arctic Adventure
Stay tuned as we prepare for the summer travel season. From Seattle to Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories and the Arctic Ocean, to Dawson City, Yukon Territory and Coldfoot, Alaska and beyond, we’ll have plenty to share on the flip side. Stay tuned to OVR Magazine for updates!
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