Due to premiere in late 2023 for – supposedly – the 2024 model year, the all-new Armada looks different from the rendering before your eyes. Coming courtesy of the folks at Q CARS, this design study proposes the kind of blocky design one would expect from the Hyundai Santa Fe.
Look even closer, and you'll notice a rather interesting blend of ruggedness and sophistication. The reassuringly simple lighting signature and rectangular headlights are to die for, whereas the rear end has a bit of Range Rover intertwined with a dash of Nissan. Speaking of which, this rendering is based on two vehicles. Notice how the side mirrors are attached to the vehicle from the front three-quarter view as opposed to the rear three-quarter view?
The door lines, C pillars, and rear three quarters are massively different as well. A bit amateurish, but on the other hand, that's how speculative renderings like to roll. The real thing is currently testing in the Middle East as the Patrol, which bears the same internal codename as the Armada (Y63).
More upright than the Y62, the all-new Armada does have a bit of Range Rover to its bodysides and rear end. Nissan dealers in the United States were shown the redesigned full-size utility vehicle in August 2023, with a dealer source telling Automotive News that Nissan intends to reveal the 2024 model in late 2023 with – get this – a twin-turbocharged V6 lump.
Said insider disclosed 424 horsepower from the mystery twin-turbo sixer, which is believed to displace between 3.0 and 4.0 liters. Toyota offers the Land Cruiser 300 series with a 3.4 marketed as a 3.5, a powerplant available with hybrid assistance in the less off-roady Sequoia SUV.
Photo: @nissanarabian on Instagram
Over in the Middle East, word on the street is that a naturally-aspirated V6 will be offered as well. The 3.8 in the Frontier is the most likely candidate, an engine manufactured at the Decherd plant in Tennessee. If that rumor proves true, said engine has to be shipped to the Shatai Kyushu plant in Japan. That's where Nissan currently builds the Patrol, Armada, QX80, and Elgrand.
With the 1GR-FE carrying over from the Land Cruiser 200 to the 300 series, it should be only natural for the Patrol to get a naturally-aspirated base V6 as well. Both powerplants will be connected to a nine-speed automatic produced by Nissan subsidiary JATCO under license from Merc, namely the 9G-Tronic introduced by the W212 in 2013.
JR913E is what Nissan calls the automatic in question, a transmission currently found in the Frontier and Titan pickups. The Z sports car is available with the JR913E as well. The Z NISMO comes with the nine-speed auto exclusively.
Be it a 2024 or a 2025 model, the Y63 is certainly going to be a step in the right direction. But alas, the sounds made by the Y62 generation's V8 motor will be dearly missed.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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