NAVARA WARRIOR COMING, MORE COULD FOLLOW

NISSAN’S NEW NAVARA, PATROL AND TITAN ALL ON PREMCAR’S WARRIOR CONVERSION CARDS.

THERE will be a trio of more muscular, locally-modified Nissan off-road models rolling on our roads in the near future if Nissan Australia has its three wishes granted – with a Premcar-developed Navara Warrior, Patrol Warrior and Titan pickup all still under discussion. Following the success of the D23 Navara N-trek Warrior, Nissan’s head office in Japan is allowing Nissan Australia to further explore possibilities with partner Premcar for more model conversions in the Melbourne-based factory.

While there are no new models to confirm under the Warrior program as yet, discussions for toughened versions of the ute, large SUV and full-size truck are still ongoing.

Speaking at the launch of the 2021 Navara, Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester explained that the initial sell-out run of 1400 Warriors had built a solid business case for a second run based on the face-lifted model.

“The relationship is in a great spot,” he said. “Looking at a future generation of Warrior with the minor change, the tough and rugged exterior with the refined interior give us an even better platform on which to build a Warrior concept.

“We are really excited to be working on that project in the background. We’re not quite there, but certainly with the team from Premcar and the job that the team has done in Japan with Navara, have just given us a package that is fantastic to work with.”

The first-generation Premcar-crafted Warrior took the already well-equipped Navara N-trek and enhanced its offering with revised suspension, a more capable wheel and tyre combination, steel front bumper and cleverly redesigned tow bar, to name a few features.

While it couldn’t quite defeat the reigning champion of the beefed-up one-tonne arena, Ford’s Ranger Raptor, Nissan’s most serious off-roader certainly came close – and that success didn’t go unnoticed on a global stage.

Lester revealed that Nissan Japan was so impressed by the results that the company is considering rolling out similar Navara incarnations to other parts of the world.

“There’s a lot more people who want to be involved, as a consequence,” he said. “We’re getting really encouraging commentary back from design, we are having much more in-depth conversations with the R&D team.”

And while the original run was capped by production constraints at 1400 units, Lester said the company could have easily found more homes for the Warrior, building a case for a greater number of second-gen examples.

In previous talks with Nissan’s development partner, Premcar told 4X4 Australia that its design-and-production facility has scope for expansion, which could be assigned for a longer run of Navara Warriors and a wider selection of models.

The next model will be a version of the Patrol large SUV, taking the capable off-roader as its basis and adding a similar level of all-terrain-boosting kit as the Navara pioneer.

While a Nissan spokesperson is yet to go on record with the confirmation, Lester all but seconded the unofficial green light in early 2020, but only after the Navara was up and rolling off production lines.

“We’ve decided to focus on getting Navara over the line and hope to use that blueprint on Patrol further down the line,” he said.

And even further down the line but still raised in discussions according to Lester, the

Nissan Titan monster ute is also a potential starter for Aus, driven by demand for plus-sized pickups with hefty towing ability.