Y63 Nissan Armada (Patrol) Hybrid SUV Shines Brightly Across Imagination Land

Over in the US, Nissan sells just about anything for everyone in a bid to cover every taste. You could snatch a small Versa sedan for a little over $16k, for example. The Frontier mid-size pickup truck is even cooler than before, as they just launched the old-school-inspired Hardbody Edition for almost $44k.

Of course, the backbone of sales is represented by crossovers and SUVs rather than cars like the Versa, Sentra, Altima, Maxima, and Leaf EV. As such, there's outstanding choice starting with the $21k Kicks and followed by the $28k Rogue, $38k Murano, $43k Ariya EV, and culminating with the adventurous $36k Pathfinder plus the rugged $55,620 Armada.

The latter, a veritable all-lineup flagship in terms of SUVs – as the most expensive Nissan is the 2024 GT-R starting at $121k – reached its second generation back in 2016 at the Chicago Auto Show and went on sale that summer. It went through an extensive refresh back in late 2020, but it's still one of the oldest models in Nissan's family because it shares the platform with the Infiniti QX80 and is based on the Y62 Nissan Patrol, the global model that reached the sixth-generation way back in 2010.

Simply put the Patrol and, by extension, the Armada are some of the oldest models in Nissan's lineup – second only to the R35 GT-R, which started production in December 2007, more than 16 years ago. If Nissan doesn't come forward with a new iteration (seventh for Patrol, third for Armada), the nameplates will soon border the decade-and-a-half milestone!

However, the rumor mill strongly believes that 2024 is the most auspicious year for an all-new Infiniti QX80, Nissan Patrol, and Nissan Armada. Naturally, the imaginative realm of digital car content creators seconds that opinion with lots and lots of unofficial design projects based on the trio of siblings. Just recently, the 'TalkWheels,' 'TheAutoReport,' and 'PoloTo' channels on YouTube have pretty yet unofficial opinions about the next iteration of the Patrol – and, by extension, the Armada, too.

Now, let's talk about them backward in the order of importance. At PoloTo, the general consensus is that Nissan won't innovate too much, possibly because they fear they could alienate the traditional fans of the full-size SUV. As such, the AI-assisted design is not far from what we see today in real life. Maybe it's for the better, but it's also quite bland.

The pixel master from TheAutoReport, on the other hand, dares to assume – again with a bit of help from AI design software – that Nissan will take a leap of faith into modern styling. As such, there are many more LEDs adorning the front and rear, plus massive (gold) wheels to feel stylish and contemporary (as well as a little tacky).

Last but not least, Muhammad Maulana from TalkWheels is instead taking the bull by the horns. As such, his unofficial design project has nothing to do with the Y62 aside from keeping the general shape and size. More precisely, the styling is not only futuristic and elegant, but this hypothetical Y63 interpretation of the upcoming Patrol and Armada also packs what looks like suicide rear doors and a hybrid powertrain!