The incoming Y63 Nissan Patrol will undergo the hardcore Warrior treatment from almost the moment it launches, giving Nissan a genuine rival to Toyota’s LC300 GR Sport — and one that’s been tuned and tweaked in Australia.
The countdown is on to the long-awaited replacement for the Y62 Nissan Patrol, with international reports pointing to a launch of Nissan’s biggest model occurring as early as 2023. And Australia won’t just be getting the factory models.
Instead, Nissan will again join forces with its local engineering partner, Victoria’s Premcar, to deliver a locally tuned variant for Australia “as soon as possible”.
Premcar already co-produces the Navara PRO-4X Warrior and the Navara SL Warrior, and is part-way through a study to produce a Warrior variant of the current Patrol.
While that third project is yet to surface, Nissan says it will deliver the all-new Patrol to Premcar almost as soon as it arrives to get work started on a locally tuned version of the new model. And if the other Warrior projects are any guide, that should include changes to the suspension and appearance, and more off-road protection.
“Bringing it to market as soon as possible is the goal,” says Nissan Australia Managing Director, Adam Paterson.
“There are challenges. You need the specification and tech of the vehicle to be able to work on the conversion of it — so would it be offered immediately upon a new vehicle release? That’s probably quite challenging, especially when it’s a local conversion.
“But is it something that we’re analysing before new models are brought to market, to do something locally with them? Absolutely.”
The only thing that could derail the project is if Nissan in Japan releases a new Patrol specification level that would equal a Warrior conversion. It’s unlikely, and if the brand sees an Australian-specific need that’s not being met, it will immediately green-light the new Warrior.
“If there’s a plant or factory solution or option that meets that use case, then we’d go with that,” Mr Paterson says. “But if globally it hasn’t been developed because it’s a a specific Australian-market need, then we’d look at doing that locally as soon as possible.
“We want the Warrior as soon as possible.”
The arrival of the new Y63 Patrol will put something of a hard deadline against the launch of a Warrior version of the current-generation Patrol. Nissan has confirmed an exploratory project is underway, and the brand say it is still hopeful of launching a Warrior Patrol sooner rather than later.
“We’re still looking at it, and we still want to try to make it happen,” Mr Paterson says.
“We definitely think there is a market for it here. Although the usage is slightly different, the amount of money people are spending on these vehicle after they leave the dealership is similar to the ute market.
“That’s why we’ve looked at it, and we’re doing our best to try and make it a reality.”
Keyword: Look out, Toyota GR Sport LandCruiser! All-new Y63 Nissan Patrol will have hardcore Warrior variant locked in from launch!