Nissan wants to create a high-performance bakkie that could compete with the likes of the Ford Ranger Raptor.
This is according to a statement made at this year’s Tokyo Mobility Show, where Nissan executives told Australian media outlets that it is considering the development of a halo version of its Navara pickup, which would be handled by its Nismo racing division.
When Australia’s Drive.com asked about the possibility of a Nissan Navara Nismo, the company’s global head of product strategy and product planning, Ivan Espinosa, simply responded “why not?”
A new challenger in the works
The idea to make a high-octane Navara is not new, as the automaker first teased the notion back in 2018 as a way to stay competitive in the growing upmarket bakkie scene, where nameplates like the Isuzu D-Max Arctic, the Toyota Hilux Legend, and the Ford Ranger Raptor now take centre stage.
The Raptor in particular is a clear competitor to Nissan’s proposed new vehicle, as the manufacturer has said it would like something that could hold its own in speedy events like the Baja 1000 rally event held annually in Mexico.
This is the same event that one of the Ford’s special driving modes is named after, and for good reason, as the Blue Oval has dominated the race winning 28 of the last 30 events with Toyota taking the other two.
Despite its clear interest to do so, Nissan has yet to actually make its athletic Navara, but this could soon change as the next-generation vehicle is currently in development, which could lay the much-needed foundation for the calibre of 4×4 that the Japanese firm wants to make.
2024 Mitsubishi Triton
While no official announcements have been made regarding the next-gen Navara, it has been confirmed that it will share the same architecture as the new Mitsubishi Triton, as the two companies are in a three-way partnership alongside Renault.
The Triton is already on sale, but is currently limited to a handful of ASEAN markets like Thailand, while storefronts like Australia and South Africa will only receive it in 2024, thus putting the still-under-wraps Navara’s arrival even further down the line.
If Nissan does follow a similar approach to Ford, the Navara Nismo will likely come out about a year after the regular models, putting a possible launch date somewhere in 2026, which should give the carmaker time to figure out the engine and other components.
While not confirmed, the next-gen Navara is currently expected to feature uprated versions of its existing 2.5-litre turbocharged drivetrains, but a Nismo variant is all but certain to get an exclusive power source that would allow it to keep pace with its competition at rally events.
The Ford Ranger, for example, relies on a number of 2.0 and 3.0-litre diesel plants for its everyday models while the Raptor is the only one equipped with a 3.0-litre, twin-turbo petrol engine with 292kW and 583Nm – much higher than what is currently offered on the current Navara’s range-topping 2.5-litre setup with its 140kW and 450Nm.
2021 Nissan Navar Pro-4X
What is holding back the Nismo’s development is the fact that Nissan will naturally need to justify its existence by establishing enough markets that would be interested in such a creation – something that has likely played a role in the halo vehicle not making an appearance up till now.
However, the bakkie landscape has changed a lot in recent years. South Africa now has more than six R1-million double cabs on the market, making it a very different time to when Mercedes-Benz failed to find a foothold for its X-Class – a vehicle that, coincidentally, was built on the same platform as the Nissan Navara.
The automaker has already made a flagship version of its bakkie called the Pro-4X Warrior which is available in markets like Australia and is powered by a 2.3-litre, twin-turbo diesel block, though this ends up producing the same 140kW and 450Nm as the South African powertrains.
In any case, the foundation is there for Nissan to make a sportier version of its popular 4×4, and we’ll just have to wait and see if it decides to go forward with the exciting idea.
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