NEW! ON THE LOOSE: RACER goes rallying with Ryan Millen and the Toyota RAV4

Wednesday, 20 May 2015 "Something's going on here," notes Pikes Peak Hill Climb and rallying legend Rod Millen of his family's motorsports accomplishments. "I haven't quite figured it out yet, but we've all been attracted to doing something unique and different."
In Rod's case, "unique and different" includes smashing the Pikes Peak outright record in a pickup truck – a no-holds-barred, fire-breathing, turbocharged Toyota Tacoma, no less.
And the latest Millen to take the road less traveled and race outside the box is Rod's son, Ryan.
The 2014 SCORE Tecate Baja 1000 class winner is gearing up to go stage rallying this year...in a production-based 2015 Toyota RAV4 LE.
Not an obvious choice? You could say that, but the 30-year-old Millen wouldn't have it any other way.
The family-friendly, compact crossover SUV is set to make its debut June 13-14 on the fast gravel stages of the Idaho Rally, competing against rally-honed machinery such as Ford's Fiesta and the Subaru WRX. Sure, it's going to be a challenge, but taking a different approach is what makes it such a compelling project. And Millen is confident that the road car RAV4 is a strong platform from which to develop a capable rally racer.
"I've driven just about everything Toyota has to offer," he says. "And I've been very impressed with the RAV4's tight, compact body and smooth handling. I'm looking forward to putting it through its paces this season."

The rally RAV4, built to 2WD Open Class rules, sports a stock transmission and a stock 2.5-liter, four-cylinder, double-overhead cam engine that pushes out 176hp and 172lb.ft of torque. Millen (RIGHT) and his crew removed more than 500lbs of stock weight, while adding a roll cage, BFGoodrich all-terrain DOT 215/75R15 tires, and upgrading to front and rear TEIN suspension.
RACER.com likes to do things differently, too, so we'll be following Ryan as he builds, tests and races his RAV4 with our On The Loose video series, plus blogs and feature stories through the year.
"I'm looking forward to taking RACER.com along for the ride," says Millen, who'll have his girlfriend, Christina Fate (with Ryan, LEFT), alongside as navigator. "It's a big learning curve for me, and I'm sure we'll have our ups and downs along the way, but I can't wait to get out there and start competing."
On The Loose, Episode 1, "Here Comes The Pressure," gets things rolling as Ryan and his older brother, Global Rallycross ace Rhys, begin the build of the RAV4 rally car. But the clock's ticking...
Stay tuned for upcoming episodes. Meanwhile, for more on Ryan Millen, check out ryan-millen.com