Photo: Nissan
What the Europeans call Navara, the Americas get as the Frontier. And for whatever reason, the U.S. missises on the mid-size pickup truck because the Navara sold in Land of the Free and Home of the Brave is, in fact, the old-generation model. Further south, Latin America brags with the current model plus a concept dubbed Attack.
Showcased at the 2017 Buenos Aires Auto Show, the Attack Concept is a one-off designed with one purpose in mind. In the automaker’s words, that would be “to capture Argentineans' perceptions about a potential production version of Frontier.” And in layman’s terms, this ain’t so much a concept vehicle as it is a slightly modified Frontier.
"Those who knew nothing about the project and had never heard of the Frontier Attack named it 'the beast' when they saw it or the first time, a name that the design team soon adopted," commented Robert Bauer, chief designer of the Nissan design team in Rio de Janeiro. Right, moving on.
The creation of Nissan’s Brazilian Design Center, the Attack draws inspiration from off-road workhorses such as ZR2 and Raptor. Standing 40 millimeters higher off the ground than the production-spec Frontier, the concept packs turbo diesel courtesy of a 2.3-liter engine. A Euro 5-compliant four-cylinder to be more specific, rated at 190 PS (187 horsepower) and 450 Nm (332 pound-feet) of torque.
A six-speed manual sends the goodies to all four wheels, which are wrapped in Yokohama Geolandar M/T off-road rubber. The four-wheel-drive system, meanwhile, is complemented by two pieces of technology designed to make life easier for the driver when the going goes off the beaten path: Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent Control.
On a slight tangent, Nissan is rumored to adapt the NP300 Navara/Frontier to U.S. specifications for the 2018 model year. Sightings of pre-production prototypes sort of confirm the automaker’s plans for the U.S.-spec Frontier. With the Ford Ranger also confirmed to return Stateside from the 2019 model year, there’s no denying Nissan can definitely make a case for an all-new Frontier.
2017 marks the 13th year since the D40 Navara entered production.
"Those who knew nothing about the project and had never heard of the Frontier Attack named it 'the beast' when they saw it or the first time, a name that the design team soon adopted," commented Robert Bauer, chief designer of the Nissan design team in Rio de Janeiro. Right, moving on.
The creation of Nissan’s Brazilian Design Center, the Attack draws inspiration from off-road workhorses such as ZR2 and Raptor. Standing 40 millimeters higher off the ground than the production-spec Frontier, the concept packs turbo diesel courtesy of a 2.3-liter engine. A Euro 5-compliant four-cylinder to be more specific, rated at 190 PS (187 horsepower) and 450 Nm (332 pound-feet) of torque.
A six-speed manual sends the goodies to all four wheels, which are wrapped in Yokohama Geolandar M/T off-road rubber. The four-wheel-drive system, meanwhile, is complemented by two pieces of technology designed to make life easier for the driver when the going goes off the beaten path: Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent Control.
On a slight tangent, Nissan is rumored to adapt the NP300 Navara/Frontier to U.S. specifications for the 2018 model year. Sightings of pre-production prototypes sort of confirm the automaker’s plans for the U.S.-spec Frontier. With the Ford Ranger also confirmed to return Stateside from the 2019 model year, there’s no denying Nissan can definitely make a case for an all-new Frontier.
2017 marks the 13th year since the D40 Navara entered production.
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