Nissan Enters Rebelle Rally With 2022 Frontier Inspired By 1980s Nissan Hardbody Off-Roading Champ

Team Wild Grace is set to enter the 2021 running of the Rebelle Rally with a 2022 Nissan Frontier whose livery is inspired by the champion off-road racing Nissan Hardbody of the 1980s.

Its red, white, and blue livery is a reference more to classic Nissan racing than the U.S., but it will be seen streaking across the American landscape at the more than 1,500-mile (2,414 km) rally that takes place over eight days. The competition will see teams navigating across the deserts of California, Nevada, and Arizona.

“Nissan has been a staple of off-road endurance racing since the 1960s, and the Hardbody racers of the ’80s remain some of the most successful and recognizable trucks ever,” said Michael Soutter, vice president, Nissan Aftersales, Americas. “We’ll be rooting for Team Wild Grace at the 2021 Rebelle Rally, proving what the all-new Frontier and new NISMO Off Road parts can do over some of America’s harshest landscapes. This truck has winning in its DNA.”

The automaker is the only one to have participated in the event every year since its inception in 2016. Team Wild Grace, meanwhile, is made up of Sedona Blinson and Lyn Woodward, who finished fourth at last year’s event.

“Having grown up in the ’80s and knowing what the Hardbody means to Nissan’s heritage, seeing our truck rendering for the first time was a legitimate ‘lump in my throat’ moment,” said Woodward who indicated that the team would be racing for the win this year among the biggest field to ever compete in the all-women event.

The truck will be stock but will feature parts supplied by NISMO Off Road, like 4-inch lights, a performance exhaust, an off-road suspension kit, and AXIS wheels.

The 2021 Rebelle Rally kicks off on October 7 at the Hoover Dam in Nevada and will continue until October 16, when teams will cross the finish line at California’s Imperial Sand Dunes.