Nissan's Next Nismo Model Will Be a 'Beast' of an SUV

The design boss calls it a 'beast.'

Photo by: Nissan

By: Adrian Padeanu

Updated: Nov 6, 2024 at 3:41am ET

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The new Nissan Patrol will once again get the Nismo treatment.
It will join the Ariya in Nissan's Nismo SUV lineup.
The previous-gen Patrol Nismo had a V-8 but its replacement will downsize to a V-6.

In 2015, Nissan did the unthinkable: It launched a Nismo-badged SUV. The Patrol (Armada in the United States) was souped up for the Middle East with extra power and more aggressive styling. The full-size, body-on-frame performance SUV got a facelift in 2021, but we’re hearing the next-gen model will retain the Nismo treatment. And apparently, it'll be a “beast.”

Australian magazine Drive spoke with Nissan’s senior vice president for global design Alfonso Albaisa about the next Patrol Nismo: “When I first saw it, I didn’t sleep for four days. When I saw the milled clay–because when you see sketches and things like that, you lose a sense of the scale of the thing—it’s a beast.”

Photo by: Nissan

It’s unclear whether the new Patrol Nismo will get an equivalent Armada variant considering the previous-generation model didn’t. We know the naturally aspirated V-8 engine with 428 horsepower isn’t returning. Like the lesser versions of the Patrol/Armada twins, Nissan will use a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6. It’s worth noting the new Patrol is offered in some markets with a base 3.8-liter V-6 that skips forced induction.

The 2025 Armada borrows its six-cylinder engine from the Infiniti QX80. In non-Nismo flavor, it’s good for 425 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. It’s already 25 hp and 103 lb-ft stronger than the old NA 5.6-liter mill, and logic tells us the hotter version will pack an even greater punch. Albaisa refused to talk about numbers but did say there’s “obviously more power and torque.”

On the flip side, he is aware people will miss the soundtrack delivered by the V-8. Albaisa hinted Nissan may or may not resort to fakery by pumping artificial sound through the speakers: “I’m not saying we’re doing that, but of course, there are synthetic sounds that people do.” If that’s the direction they're going, we’re hoping there will at least be a way to turn it off.

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When the beefier Patrol arrives, it will join the fully electric Ariya in Nissan’s Nismo lineup of SUVs. In the past, Nissan also had a Juke Nismo and even a Juke-R that had the GT-R’s engine but only a handful were ever sold.