Nissan Teases Compact Hardbody Return for Mid-Size Frontier, Debuts September 14

Nissan has used the Frontier nameplate as an alternative to its NP300 and Navara monikers across several regions, including the United States and Canadian markets. And its history dates back to 1997, but the series can trace its origins to the D21 model of 1985, which came out as the successor to the compact Datsun 720 – and was sold as the Navara in several regions or the Nissan Datsun Truck at home in Japan.

Sturdy as a tank and with more names than we care to remember, it was also known as the Nissan Hardbody – or Camiones in Mexico, Big M in Thailand, PickUp, Hustler, Power Eagle, Pathfinder Eagle, or King Cab, among others. As such, it's not that hard to imagine how Nissan wants to take care of the heritage after, in 2021, it finally conceded to the obvious and issued the third-gen Frontier for North America as a separate model instead of using parallel offerings like the D22 and D40 with the international version.

Sales picked up soon afterward, and while it can't compete with the mighty Toyota Tacoma (almost 117k deliveries), during the first half of the year, it wrapped up the proceeds in second place with more than 34k units sold. It was very close to Chevrolet's Colorado, though, and with the latter being an all-new offering, it's pretty apparent the Japanese automaker doesn't want to lose the momentum. As such, a new variant is always an excellent choice to keep the hype flowing.

And since they believe the original Nissan Hardbody "capitalized on a desire for compact, rugged and easy-to-use trucks that were equally suited for work and play – from landscapers to surfers, and everyone in between," they are bringing back the moniker. The name was based on the "tough, double-walled bed design," and it was also among the first vehicles to ever come out of Nissan's California design studio – now Nissan Design America.

From Nissan's standpoint, they are surely considering the Hardbody just as significant for their North American evolution as the Datsun 510 that "helped kick-start Nissan's fortunes in the US and paved the way for decades of sedan success" or the iconic Z series of sports cars. So much so that the Nissan Heritage Collection, which is open for private tours only, has many production and concept vehicles, including a 1990 Hardbody 4x4, that are integral to the brand's US operations. But there's more good news.

As it turns out, the beloved Nissan Hardbody compact truck "begins its next chapter" on September 14, when the Japanese automaker will debut a new Frontier Hardbody variant. It likely won't compete with the unibody Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz compact trucks. Instead, it will probably join the roster as a third body style alongside the Frontier King Cab and Frontier Crew Cab. That's obviously an answer to the multitude of N400 Toyota Tacoma variants and the upcoming jeopardy of the new Chevy Colorado plus GMC Canyon twins, plus the new iteration of the Ford Ranger, right? Well, the mid-size pickup truck landscape is surely only getting more interesting by the day!