- A 1987 Nissan Sunny truck gets an all-electric update courtesy of a Leaf
- Nissan’s NISMO previews off-road prototype parts that may be offered in future
- The automaker returns to racing with its Z GT4 next year
Nissan will take the wraps off six concept cars at the 2022 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, including two all-electric models.
The SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) is billed as the world’s largest trade show for auto aftermarket, and will be held November 1 through 4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Nissan’s booth will showcase the concept vehicles along with two “parts walls” of off-road and street NISMO accessory parts.
The Nissan Sunny Leaf Project, built by Tommy Pike Customs of South Carolina, mates a 1987 Nissan Sunny truck – which originally carried a four-cylinder gasoline engine – with an electric motor and 40-kWh battery pack from a Nissan Leaf. At 147 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque, the right-hand-drive truck now has around twice the power and more than three times the torque of its previous gas engine. It also features a Skyline wide-body kit, LED lighting, and custom interior.
Nissan Ariya Surfwagon concept Photo by Nissan
NISMO Off Road Frontier V8 concept Photo by Nissan
NISMO Off Road Frontier V8 concept Photo by Nissan
2022 Frontier King Cab “Mini-Truck” Photo by Nissan
2022 Frontier King Cab “Mini-Truck” Photo by Nissan
2023 Nissan SEMA Z NISMO Photo by Nissan
Chris Forsberg’s 2023 Nissan Z Drift Car Photo by Nissan
Nissan Sunny Leaf Project Photo by Nissan
Nissan Sunny Leaf Project Photo by Nissan
Tommy Pike Customs also turned the new, all-electric Ariya into a California-style woody wagon, dubbed the “Surfwagon.” It wears a custom vinyl wrap with wood panelling and chrome trim, 20-inch smoothie wheels with stainless-steel centre caps, whitewall tires, lowered suspension, and roof rack with two surfboards.
California-based Forsberg Racing built the NISMO Off Road Frontier V8 concept, dropping a 5.6L V8 from a full-size Titan pickup (a model no longer sold in Canada) into a midsize Frontier. The Titan also donated its lower control arms, front spindles, wheel hubs, and rear axle to the Frontier’s wide-track suspension, while the coil-over front shocks and rear external-reservoir shocks are NISMO/Bilstein, providing increased ride height and payload.
The concept Frontier includes a custom wide-body kit with carbon-fibre front fenders, hood, and bed sides; NISMO Off Road 18-inch wheels, roof rack, and LED lighting. It also shows off some prototype NISMO Off Road parts – front bumper, rock rails, and in-bed spare wheel carrier – that Nissan may offer in the future.
For those who like to keep their trucks on the road, Michigan-based Christina Roki, billed as a content creator and automotive influencer, created a 2022 Frontier King Cab S as a tribute to the mini-truck craze of the 1990s. It includes a Performance Lab Detroit wide-body kit, lowered suspension, 20-inch Black Rhino Kaizen wheels, MagnaFlow cat-back exhaust, smoked headlights, and custom Alcantara upholstery.
The new 2023 Nissan Z shows up to show off NISMO accessory parts created for it, including a coil-over suspension kit, adjustable stabilizer bar kit, “big brake” kit with larger rotors and track-ready brake pads, lightweight forged 19-inch wheels, cold air intake, track exhaust, and carbon-fibre accessories.
Three-time Formula Drift champion Chris Forsberg also shows off his newest drift car, a 2023 Nissan Z with its twin-turbocharged V6 engine modified to 1,300 horsepower, with its exhausts through the hood. It includes chassis and body modifications as well, and made its drifting debut at the Formula Drift Streets in California in April 2022. Nissan will also make the public debut of its Nissan Z GT4 race car, which will compete in circuits in 2023.
Keyword: Retro EV truck, woody Ariya among Nissan's 6 SEMA show cars