Nissan Hints At Navara Nismo For Next-Gen Truck

Nissan is tirelessly working on the next generation of the Navara that’s expected by next year, but before the standard model even breaks cover, there are already rumors about a Nismo-branded flagship. Rather than chasing pure speed, a Nissan Navara Nismo could be gearing up to challenge the Ford Ranger Raptor head-on, bringing a new kind of muscle to the off-road brawl.

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Ivan Espinosa, Nissan’s Chief Planning Officer, all but confirmed that the company is seriously considering a Navara Nismo, hinting at collaborations with partner companies: “Well, this is also something that we are looking at, and you could imagine seeing something along those lines with the partners that we are working on that as well”.

As reported by Australian media outlet CarExpert, Espinosa highlighted local partnerships as a promising example: “So of course, this is in particular, in Australia, it’s something where we’ve been doing very good business and customers are very happy with what we’re providing. So you could think that we could probably do something along those lines.”

The Warrior trims of the Navara and Patrol available Down Under are born from a collaboration between Nissan and Australian company Premcar. This same partner could be key in developing a Navara Nismo, potentially positioning it as the crown jewel above the off-road-focused Pro-4X trim.

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2021 Nissan Navara Warrior by Premcar

A Nismo-branded Navara would likely pack a more powerful engine to go head-to-head with the V6-powered Ford Ranger Raptor. Nissan’s twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6, which cranks out 425 hp (317 kW / 431 PS) and 516 lb-ft (699 Nm) in the new Patrol/Armada twins, seems like a strong contender. However, it’s unclear if this unit would fit within the Navara’s ladder-frame architecture.

When asked about this possibility, Espinosa said that the only application for the V6 is the Patrol, but added that “parts of that could be carried over to some future models”.

This is not the first time we hear about a Nismo-tuned Navara. The first reports surfaced back in 2014, just a few months after the debut of the current D23 generation of the pickup. The idea went dark for a while, but the buzz started up again last year.

Driven: Nissan Navara Pro-4X Warrior Is Brash And Unapologetic

At the 2023 Japan Mobility Show, Espinosa—then Nismo chief—hinted at a Navara flagship while speaking to Australian media. According to CarSales, he said: “It’s something in my brain and my heart for quite a long time working on Nismo. We could look at it … not in the way of off-road crawling kind of truck, but something more speed-oriented, off-road speed like Baja or something”.

The next generation of the Nissan Navara is expected to share its ladder-frame underpinnings, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrain options with the Mitsubishi Triton, as part of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. Interestingly, Mitsubishi is also rumored to be working on a flagship version of the Triton with the Ralliart badge, which could potentially borrow Nissan’s V6 powertrain to up the ante.

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2018 Nissan Navara Dark Sky Concept