Photography by Richard Giordano, Regine Trias, Tim Sutton, Paolo Baraldi, and Ernesto Araiza
After traversing over 2,600 kilometers of desert terrain, 128 women left California’s Johnson Valley in mid-October, bound for home. Hailing from 114 cities, 27 states and provinces, and six countries, they drove Jeeps and Fords, Toyotas, and Land Rovers. Some chose Subarus, while others piloted Ineos Grenadiers or the occasional Ram, BMW, or Kia. Departing from Soggy Dry Lake Recreation Area, these women had just completed the Rebelle Rally—America’s longest competitive and navigational off-road rally—and their vehicles wore the silt, dust, and sand like a badge of honor.
Familiar favorites included Team Roaming Wolves’ 1969 Ford Bronco, Team Honey Badgers’ 2004 Toyota Tacoma, Team MtnSubi’s 2014 Subaru Outback, and a wide range of Jeeps, which continue to be the preferred manufacturer choice by rally participants. But some new (and old) trucks, cars, and SUVs debuted this year, taking on both the Imperial and Dumont dunes, the rough tracks of Johnson Valley, and dry lake beds in between. Here are just a few of the coolest vehicles from this year’s rally.
Saguaro Sisters’ 2024 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison
Performance and Motorsports Engineer Nicole McKinnon approached GM with the desire to compete in the Rebelle Rally and met teammate, navigator, and Engine and Electrification Analysis Lead Engineer Kristen Goslawski en route to a Rebelle U training. Created in collaboration with American Expedition Vehicles (AEV), the ZR2 Bison is available with Multimatic dampers, Decked drawers, a Putco Venture Tec rack, and recovery boards—all of which McKinnon and Goslawski put to the test. An added bonus? Dale Earnhardt-inspired helmets.
Chaos Finders’ 2024 Toyota Tacoma
Four-time Rebelle competitors Becky Brophy and Samantha Barber drove this 2024 Total Chaos Fabrication Toyota Tacoma to clinch their second podium finish. Featuring Total Chaos upper and lower control arms, a rear link kit, 2.5-inch adjustable King shocks, and 34×10.5R17 BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires, the Tacoma is also outfitted with an in-house designed and fabricated custom bumper, skid plate, and bed cage. Brophy and Barber, Toyota Senior Engineers, said the truck took care of them during the rally, while driver Becky had a lot of fun driving the course.
Team Wild Grace’s 2024 Ranger Raptor
With 11 Rebelle Rallies between them, Bailey Campbell and Sedona Blinson have had plenty of seat time. As part of the Ford Performance team, Campbell and Blinson competed in the 2024 Ranger Raptor this year, which will also be used to pre-run the Baja 1000 course next month before Bailey takes to the wheel for the race. Blinson says the Ranger Raptor’s size made it nimble and easy to maneuver in the variety of terrain faced by Rebelles on course. “The V6 horsepower was extra helpful in the dunes and Baja mode optimized suspension and gave Bailey the forward-facing camera, even at slightly higher speeds, which was perfect for the quicker paced washes we went through.”
Team High Mile Club’s 1986 Toyota 4Runner
Learning to drive a manual transmission en route to pick up the 4Runner from Northern California was just the beginning of Emma Debany’s journey to the Rebelle Rally. Partnering with Squirrel Concepts, Emma and navigator Nicole McCammon (aka Team High Mile Club) made the 36-year-old vehicle rally-ready by focusing on preventative maintenance and upgrades, including an engine skid plate, a gauge cluster (taken from a SR5 truck), Baja Designs lights, and 31-inch Kenda mud-terrain tires. Stay tuned for more about this build and the realities of competing with an older vehicle in an upcoming Expedition Portal article.
Team Trailsport Trekkers’ 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport
The Rebelle Rally offered a glimpse at the 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport prior to its official reveal later this fall. Driven by Honda associates and Rebelle rookies Adia Raya, a commercial quality product engineer, and Quality Engineer Madison Russell, the early-production Passport TrailSport competed in the X-Cross class without any chassis modifications, putting its 3.5-liter V6 engine, 10-speed automatic transmission, and i-VTM4 all-wheel drive system to the test. “I was very impressed with the Passport,” said Raya. “We threw at it a torturous 1500 miles of sand, silt, and rocks, plus a full-on gauntlet to the undertray – and it still crossed the finish line ready for the next adventure. The vehicle handled sand, silt, and dirt roads with impressive power and agility. Honda threw its best at this Trailsport between the tuning and added protection.”
Team B3 Rebelles’ 2001 Land Rover Discovery II
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From a young age, Team B3 Rebelles driver Marie Reyes dreamed of being a woman in motorsports. After years of fangirling over the Camel Trophy and Dakar Rally put Land Rover on her radar, she purchased “Bernard,” a 2001 Land Rover Discovery II. Although friends and family members tried to talk her into competing with a newer vehicle, Marie and navigator Hanna Temkin found inner joy from the challenge. Marie says she’s always loved Bernard, but during the Rebelle, other people appreciate his charm, too.
Team 129’s 2024 Jeep Gladiator Mojave
There are many reasons why this Jeep Gladiator is cool, but they may not be what you expect. Driven by this year’s top-placing 4×4 team of Nena Barlow and Teralin Petereit, the Mojave wasn’t accessorized with all the bells and whistles but ran completely stock. Barlow, Petereit, and their third teammate (“Mo”) topped the podium in the 4×4 class and Bone Stock designation, proving once again that technique, experience, and a capable vehicle are a winning match.
Team BMW’s 2025 BMW X3 M50
With a decade of off-road rally experience, Rebecca Donaghe, and eight-time Dakar navigator Syndiely Wade, earned a podium finish for BMW in the X-Cross class piloting the 2025 BMW X3 M50. Organization was key for this build, and the team prioritized easy accessibility and protection of their tools, recovery gear, and more. Rigid lights, MaxTrax, and Front Runner Wolf Pack Pro boxes found a home on the Front Runner Slimline II roof rack, while labeled Flat Packs and a Typhoon weatherproof bag protected against the elements.
Team Coffee and Roam’s 2019 Double Cab Toyota Tacoma
Nicknamed “The Peregrine” by Coffee and Roam’s Avis Cook and Elizabeth Siegel, this 2019 Double Cab Tacoma has a six-speed manual transmission, Baja Designs lights, Elka dampers, and Total Chaos upper and lower control arms, which Cook and Siegel installed and upgraded themselves. The Kuat bed rack features six MOLLE panels and two grab handles for easy access while loading and unloading their rally gear, but the team kept most of the weight nice and low in the back seat or bottom of the truck bed.
Read more: Cool Vehicles of the 2022 Rebelle Rally
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