North America Could Land Nismo Variant of Nissan Armada

With the current Nissan Armada slated to be replaced by its global-market equivalent (the Nissan Patrol) in 2025, many on our market are excited about the prospect of the SUV receiving the Pro-4X version. However, North America also has a chance to lay their hands on the spicy Nismo variant if consumers make enough noise.

Formerly limited to the Middle East — specifically Dubai, where people will buy literally anything if you market it as premium — the Nismo Patrol is kind of a bonkers model. Not only was this Nissan’s least sporting entrant, it was being the coveted performance badge.

While it may sound kind of crazy, it’s not unprecedented. Toyota Racing Development (TRD) was formerly focused upon the in-house tuning of the company’s on-road performance vehicles, with off-road applications being secondary. However, due to the company pivoting away from street performance in the 2000s, TRD became synonymous with trucks and SUVs. Toyota now has Gazoo Racing (GR) to handle its current roster of sporting cars, leaving TRD to focus primarily on off-road performance and the occasional appearance package.

Nismo could find itself on a similar trajectory, and has already taken a few steps down that path. But we’d stop well short of claiming that the tuned-up Nismo Patrol (Armada) is being prioritized for kicking up dirt. All the modifications seem like they’d actually make the SUV significantly worse off-road and better on pavement.

Past versions of the SUV came with a Nismo-tuned 5.6-liter V8 boasting 428 horsepower with 413 pound-feet of torque. They also received an interior makeover, and got bodywork designed to improve aerodynamics. A lot of the changes were about giving the model a more sporting appearance, with the Bilstein suspension and upgraded engine looking to be prioritized for street use.

You’ll hear no complaints from me. While it seems like it would make sense to lean into the SUV’s body-on-frame attributes, improving its on-road responsiveness and aerodynamics aren’t a bad thing. Anyone who has ever taken the Armada on an extended drive knows that it’s floaty with vague steering. This isn’t much of an issue at low speeds and can be downright beneficial when you’re traversing pot-hole laden roads. But when the Armada catches a crosswind at highway speeds, it can feel a little sketchy.

The Armada’s main attributes were always its low price tag relative to how much vehicle you’re getting by the pound. It’s utterly massive, trailer friendly and offers a lot more luxury than the starting price would suggest. You just have to be willing to live with some of the compromises of an older body-on-frame platform.

But the upcoming Armada is supposed to remedy some of those problems without undoing what made it popular in the first place. Still, rumors have the complete redesign raising the MSRP by a few grand and we’re not sure how that’s going to fly when consumers are universally signaling sticker shock.

Since 2019, the current generation has already seen its base price balloon from $48,500 to $58,500. Meanwhile, the Nismo Patrols have been retailing in the Middle East for AED 398,500 (or $108,494 USD). Despite other luxury and performance-focused trucks and SUVs stickering for at least that much on our market, the final figure still feels pretty steep.

Our next Armada is basically just being brought up to speed to match the global-market Patrol. As a perk, that means the chances of landing the Nismo variant has improved.

It’s assumed that the next Nismo Patrol (and its Armada equivalent) will get a tuned up version of the 3.5-liter twin-turbo VR35DDTT V6 that’s found inside the Infiniti QX80. Suspension upgrades are also a given, along with Nismo-themed bodywork. That means bumpers and side skirts with black and red piping.

Output should ballpark somewhere around 450 hp (perhaps higher) and make its way to all four tires via new nine-speed automatic transmission. But we won’t get it unless we ask for it. Nissan product planner Brent Hagan was quoted by CarBuzz as saying “Everything is on the table … It depends on the feedback from people,

"If they come out and say 'Give us a Nismo! Give us a Warrior!,' we take that into account," he added.

Thus far, we know that the next Nismo and Warrior are both slated to land in Australia and the Middle East. All other markets will be considered, with Nissan's final decision to export being based on the presumed demand.

[Images: Nissan]

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