Nissan’s next Nismo model is rumored to be an SUV but promises to be a beast as Nissan prepares to shake up the performance SUV order.
Nissan might be adding more power and style to the next generation Nismo Patrol if a new interview is to be believed.
Nissan pulled a rabbit out of its hat in 2015 when it extended the Nismo treatment to the Nissan Patrol (aka the Armada in our market.) which was the first time the Nismo treatment moved from a car-based model to a utility vehicle. It brought extra power and extra style to the Patrol but a prominent catch was that the model was exclusive to the Middle East and wasn’t offered anywhere else even after it got a facelift in 2021.
The next generation model has recently made its appearance and Nissan not only confirmed that the Nismo model will extend over to the revamped Patrol/Armada but that it will be a beast signaling that Nissan and Nismo are willing to take big risks in making the performance SUV a contender with the model potentially moving beyond the Middle East and into other markets.
Is a beast about to be unleashed at Nismo?
The next-generation Nismo version might also move from its exclusive digs in the Middle East market to other key sales regions including the U.S.
The apparent confirmation appeared as the result of a recent interview that the Australian publication Drive Magazine did with Nissan’s senior vice president for global design Alfonso Albasia about the next-generation model. “When I first saw it, I didn’t sleep for four days. When I saw the milled clay–because when you see sketches and things like that, you lose a sense of the scale of the thing—it’s a beast.”
It’s not known what will power the next generation Nismo since the V8 from the old model was axed or if it will even make its way to the U.S. but chances are good that Nismo will make use of an upgraded version of the new model’s twin-turbo V6 which is also shared with the Infiniti QX80. This engine makes 425 hp in its current form and 516 lb-ft of torque. That’s already an upgrade from the old V8 but if the execs words are to be believed at face value, the next-gen Nismo model could potentially cross the 500 hp barrier. This would naturally come with an enhanced soundtrack but Albasia declined to comment on whether Nissan will resort to digital enhancements to help the exhaust sound better.
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It’ll be part of a broader plan for Nismo
The new Nismo Patrol will be part of a one-two punch for Nissan with the beefy SUV being sold alongside the all-electric Ariya Nismo EV.
When the Nissan Patrol Nismo eventually makes its way into production, the beefy SUV will be sold alongside the Ariya EV Nismo which would give the sub-brand two performance SUVs to sell with one for each type of powertrain. The performance brand also had a Juke-based model but it went away when the Juke itself was axed but not before Nismo made a handful of versions that were powered by GT-R sourced twin-turbocharged V6s.
This time around, the brand is embarking on a more calculated approach to what models are chosen for the Nismo treatment with the brand admitting in the past that it needs to enhance its presence in the SUV market to access a broader pool of sales which will still allow it to build the car-based models that some of the brand’s fiercest loyalists expect.
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