Subaru Outback Takes Class Win in 2024 Rebelle Rally

Twin Falls Subaru is pleased to announce that a Subaru Outback won its class in the 2024 Rebelle Rally this past October. Carey Lando drove the Outback, and Andrea Shaffer navigated the eight-day off-road event. They were the first Subaru factory team to participate in the event, and it was Subaru’s first win. 

The 2024 Rebelle Rally was the ninth annual running of this all-women off-road rally. In addition to the rough Nevada and California terrain, the event’s rules challenge navigation by banning phones and GPS devices, thus requiring teams to find their way with topographic maps, rulers, and compasses. The event involves about 10-12 hours of competition for each of its eight days. Participants must cross specific checkpoints along the way in the correct order, which they find through maps provided by the rally.  

Competitors are divided into two classes. The 4×4 class, unsurprisingly, features vehicles equipped with four-wheel drive and a two-speed transfer case. Examples included several full-size pickup trucks, Jeep Wranglers, Ford Broncos, Land Rovers, Nissan Frontiers, and Toyota 4Runners. 

The Outback competed and took victory in the X-Cross class. This class features what are generally known as “crossovers.” They can have two- or all-wheel drive but cannot be equipped with a two-speed transfer case. Besides the Outback, competitors included the Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV4, Porsche Cayenne, Ford Bronco Sport, and others. 

Subaru wasn’t counting on the team to win. Factory teams usually don’t win events they participate in for the first time. Fortunately, their driver and navigator were veterans of the event, though they had never worked together before. This is the fourth Rebelle Rally for Seattle-based Lando. Shaffer, from Las Vegas, is an “original Rebelle,” as she competed in its debut event in 2016 and has only missed one of the subsequent eight competitions. She looks forward to the tenth anniversary of the Rebelle Rally next year. Both women share a love of the outdoors. In between rallies, Shaffer regularly heads out into the desert with her family for camping and off-roading trips. Lando adventures with different groups on different terrains, regularly testing the limits of her Subaru Outback. “I think the Rebelle provides an opportunity to gain confidence and find people who support your passion and push you in healthy ways,” she says. 

This victory has its own coincidence. In the 2023 event, veteran rally competitors Nena Barlow and Teralin Peterit ran out of fuel in the Glamis sand dunes. Lando came to their rescue and pulled Barlow and Peterit across the finish line. This year, Lando and Schaffer won the X-Cross category, while Barlow and Peterit won the 4×4 category in their Jeep Gladiator.  

Lando’s Outback was not bone-stock, but the modifications are limited. Vehicles must be street-legal and available for the public to buy. No full-tube chassis vehicles (buggies/race trucks) are permitted. Tires must also be highway-legal and regularly available to the public. Two spares are permitted. Aftermarket suspension components are allowed, but stock pivot locations must be maintained. The vehicle’s tires may not be wider than 3.5-inches per side from factory width, from outside-of-tire to outside-of-tire. 

“I’ve done so much with my car,” Lando says. “So many people are surprised to see my car out there with Jeeps and Broncos and other 4x4s. I can hit the dirt, then enjoy a comfortable drive on the way home. And the fuel economy is excellent!” Shaffer points out. “It’s a win-win across the board.” 

One of the reasons the Rebelle Rally producers stipulate that its vehicles must be street-legal vehicles available to the general public is they want people to realize that the vehicles in their driveways are likely more capable than they think. Subaru agrees, which is why it sponsored these winners. Subaru has a long history of off-road competition and putting what it has learned into what it sells, and the Outback is a perfect example. Twin Falls Subaru invites you to visit and see what the Outback and all crossovers in the Subaru model line are capable of and can do for you.