Nissan Mulls Performance Pickup Truck

Nissan Motor Co. is considering an off-road performance version of its NP300 Navara midsize pickup truck to compete with Ford Motor Co.’s upcoming Ranger Raptor model.

“This is an opportunity we would like to study,” Ashwani Gupta, who heads the light commercial vehicle operations for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, tells Motoring. Gupta says he was pitched the idea by Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester this week during the Australian launch of the latest version of the Navara.

Reworking the Navara's chassis for enhanced performance would be relatively straight forward. But Gupta notes that the company would have to find an appropriate powertrain for a Raptor-esque model. The company also needs to determine if there’s enough consumer demand to warrant a high-performance Navara.

Nissan produces the Navara, which is sold as the Frontier in the U.S., in Argentina, China, Mexico and Spain. The Navara’s chassis is shared by the Renault Alaskan and Mercedes-Benz X-Class pickups.

Ford’s Raptor models feature a beefier chassis, brakes and suspension to allow the vehicles to motor over rough terrain at high speeds. The company currently offers a Raptor version of its F-150 full-size pickup truck and is launching the Ranger Raptor later this year. Ford also is said to be considering a Raptor edition of its international Everest crossover/SUV.​​​​