The first step towards an all-new Y63 Nissan Patrol will reportedly be taken in June this year, when US dealers show off the New Infiniti QX80 Monograph Concept, with the model to act as the first preview of the Nissan Group’s replacement for its biggest and most powerful SUV.
Infiniti is to Nissan what Lexus is to Toyota, and the QX80 is to the Patrol what the LX is to the LandCruiser 300 Series, so the fact the covers seem set to be ripped off the luxury version means the mainstream alternative can’t be far behind it.
The reports surfaced in US publication Car Buzz, who says Infiniti’s Senior Director of Operations, Bob Welby, showed them a slide of a still-covered QX80, and told them the concept unveiling would occur in June.
That timing ties in neatly with recent spy shots of what appears to be the next-generation Patrol undergoing evaluation testing in the Middle East, with both models largely tipped to launch next year.
Those images report to have captured a Y63 Patrol testing while wearing a Y62 body – so as to keep the secret just a little longer – but it all points to Nissan’s biggest bopper taking some big strides towards replacement.
One thing that seems a near certainty, though, is that neither the new QX80 or the Y63 Patrol will retain Nissan’s potent V8 engine, with solid reporting out of both the USA and the Middle East (important markets for the QX80 and Patrol respectively) pointing to the 298kW/560Nm petrol thumper being swapped for a smaller twin-turbo V6.
The reports suggest the downsized engine will pair with a new nine-speed torque-converter automatic transmission and a permanent all-wheel-drive system.
But before we hit the panic button, it’s worth pointing out that it’s a path already walked by Toyota, which managed to downsize the engine but deliver more power, more torque and better fuel economy in the LC300 versus the LC200.
Nissan, too, will no doubt seek to at least match the current V8 on power, and beat it on efficiency, despite the fewer cylinders. It’s unclear whether the Patrol’s powertrain will be new to Nissan, or a tweaked version of an existing engine.
Also still on the table is electrification in the shape of Nissan’s e-Power system, with the brand confirming that the technology that has just arrived in the X-Trail is able to be scaled up to a model like the Patrol, and that the development work had begun.
While the brand hasn’t locked in timing or specifics, Nissan has furthered the e-Power conversation for its commercial and large SUV fleet, confirming not just that its hybrid tech would work on those models, but that development work was already underway to bring them to market.
“It’s not appropriate to talk about the future product plan, but for a 4WD application, we have already applied e-Power technology to X-Trail, so you can confirm its performance,” says Nissan Vice President of Powertrain and EV Engineering, Shunichi Inamijima.
“But I can say that the technology itself is applicable to larger SUVs or commercial applications, and technical development is going on.”
Keyword: Don't order that Y62 or LC300 yet! All-new Y63 2024 Nissan Patrol coming sooner than we thought - reports