Photo: CarPix
Nissan engineers are testing an SUV derivative of the new Navara. While the NP300 Navara was launched last year, Nissan has not completed testing procedures for its derivatives. Our friends at CarPix spotted a Nissan prototype built on a custom body.
The latter used to be the Navara’s platform sibling, but received an all-new generation back in October 2012 and strayed from the body-on-frame configuration.
Instead, the prototype in the photo gallery has what appears to be the rear end of the previous generation of the Pathfinder. Meanwhile, the front end looks like Nissan’s more recent products, like the NP300 Navara.
Even though the prototype is concealed by a dense layer of camouflage, we can still spot the cutouts for the doors, and the ones for the rear also resemble the ones used on the old Pathfinder.
Since the rounded-off front end resembles the one on the new Navara, we believe Nissan wants to bring back a body-on-frame SUV into its range while keeping the Pathfinder in a unibody configuration.
Using the platform of the all-new Navara would enable Nissan to provide a capable off-roader in its SUV range, while also having a model that is more suitable for the paved roads.
Some claim this prototype is the replacement of the ongoing Nissan Patrol, launched in 2010 and sold in some markets as the Armada. The Patrol is a body-on-frame SUV, which has continuously been improved and adapted to provide a luxurious interior. The full-size SUV from Nissan is mostly popular in the Middle East, but is also available in several other markets.
Using the Navara platform for the potential Nissan Patrol replacement would allow the automaker to reintroduce this model to the European market. While SUVs are popular on the Old Continent, full-size models are not always best-sellers because of their sheer size, but markets like China, USA, and the Middle East might make Nissan’s effort worth the development costs.
Instead, the prototype in the photo gallery has what appears to be the rear end of the previous generation of the Pathfinder. Meanwhile, the front end looks like Nissan’s more recent products, like the NP300 Navara.
Even though the prototype is concealed by a dense layer of camouflage, we can still spot the cutouts for the doors, and the ones for the rear also resemble the ones used on the old Pathfinder.
Since the rounded-off front end resembles the one on the new Navara, we believe Nissan wants to bring back a body-on-frame SUV into its range while keeping the Pathfinder in a unibody configuration.
Using the platform of the all-new Navara would enable Nissan to provide a capable off-roader in its SUV range, while also having a model that is more suitable for the paved roads.
Some claim this prototype is the replacement of the ongoing Nissan Patrol, launched in 2010 and sold in some markets as the Armada. The Patrol is a body-on-frame SUV, which has continuously been improved and adapted to provide a luxurious interior. The full-size SUV from Nissan is mostly popular in the Middle East, but is also available in several other markets.
Using the Navara platform for the potential Nissan Patrol replacement would allow the automaker to reintroduce this model to the European market. While SUVs are popular on the Old Continent, full-size models are not always best-sellers because of their sheer size, but markets like China, USA, and the Middle East might make Nissan’s effort worth the development costs.
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