Nissan Patrol’s V8 stays put, won’t get electrification anytime soon

The Managing Director of Nissan Australia has once again expressed support for the V8 engine Patrol despite ever stringent emissions regulations and switch towards electrification.

In an apparent thinly veiled swipe at the incoming six-cylinder only Toyota Land Cruiser 300, Stephen Lester, who two months ago stressed the importance of the engine in spite of also being in favour of a diesel engine currently not offered, remarked to carsguide.com.au that the 298kW/560Nm 5.6-litre bent-eight “answers a question a lot of consumers are asking” and that he himself is a fan of it.

He however stated that while no plans for electrification are planned, a setup the 300 will utilise, it “would be remiss not to think that the great engineers we’ve got can’t marry the technology – whether it be hybrid, electrification or whatever – into another power plant that could do as good or a better job”.

“Patrol as a vehicle, we’ll always have our hands up for it, for Australians who travel, who tow, who want to get across the Outback. We’ve seen more advancement in the past 10 years than we have in the last 50, but there are no plans [for electrification] in the imminent time period”.

While it was alleged last year that the next Patrol could follow the same route as its arch rival and adopt a smaller displacement engine with forced assistance, Lester’s comments seemingly once again pours cold water on the claim, especially as the next generation Titan, which uses the same platform, appears unlikely to have a six-cylinder anytime soon.

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