Honda has two colorful Pilot Trailsports and similarly vibrant Passport Trailsport SUVs to participate in the 2023 Rebelle Rally. The event runs across 1,500 miles of off-road terrain through California and Nevada and takes place from October 12 through 21.
The three SUVs wear unique body wraps that combine shades of pink, yellow, and blue. Looking closely, you can see stylized dust, water, and rocks. Lili Melikian from the Honda Design Studio created the looks and took inspiration from the pop art style.
Gallery: Honda Pilot Trailsport and Passport Trailsport For 2023 Rebelle Rally
Honda only makes minor mechanical changes to these SUVs for competing in the Rebelle Rally. The Pilot gets just custom-fabricated steel bumpers and Maxxis RAZR AT tires. The other Pilot competes in the Bone Stock category and receives the Maxxis tires. The Passport gains steel skid plates, front recovery points, and a set of Maxxis RAZR AT rubber.
Honda just introduced an updated 2024 Passport Trailsport. It has a revised suspension that includes adjustments to the spring rates, tweaked damper valve tuning, and upgraded stabilizer bars that offer increased wheel articulation. General Grabber A/Tx all-terrain tires provide better off-road traction, according to the automaker.
The Pilot TrailSport arrived for the 2023 model year. It features an inch more ground clearance than the regular model and sway bars that provide better wheel articulation. Revised all-wheel-drive software can send up to 75 percent of the power to the rear wheels with 75:25 percent side-to-side torque vectoring.
The drivers include Honda employees Liz Long and Hillary Tate in the Pilot. Automotive journalist Mercedes Lilienthal and Emily Winslow are in the other Pilot. Serena Halterman and Nicole Rotondo are driving the Passport.
The Rebelle Rally is not a traditional race. Competitors have to navigate to checkpoints without using GPS or other modern tech. Instead, they must use paper maps and compasses to find a path to the finish line each day. Sixty-five vehicles are competing this year.
Hyundai will also compete in the Rebelle Rally with a lightly modified Santa Cruz featuring 17-inch Falken Wildpeak A/T3W tires. A lift kit raises the truck by 1.5 inches in front and an inch at the back.
Kia will be there too with an upgraded Telluride. It has new front and rear bumpers from the company Baja Forged. The SUV has a 1.5-inch suspension lift, too. A set of BFGoodrich T/A K02 tires mount onto eighteen-inch KMC716 wheels.
Take a tour of the Pilot Trailsport:
