Facelifted back in 2020, the Y62 Patrol has been on sale globally since 2010.
Having celebrated its 70th anniversary last year, the third, and so far biggest, speculative report in four years pertaining to the next generation Nissan Patrol has emerged on social media.
A model that has remained largely under wraps, Middle East-based Instagram page, car_secrets, has alleged that the Y63 Patrol, allegedly on track to debut in around three years’ time, will drop the normally aspirated V8 engine for a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6.
The claim goes further by saying that the V6, which Nissan has allegedly been developing since 2017, will be matched to a nine-speed automatic gearbox as opposed to the current Y62 Patrol’s seven-speed ‘box, and that drive will go to all four wheels via a permanent or partial four-wheel-drive system.
Though Nissan has remained quiet on divulging any details, the supposed axing of the present day 5.6-litre V8, which has powered the Y62 since its introduction 12 years ago, stands in contrast to comments made two years ago by Nissan Australia Managing Director, Stephen Lester.
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In an interview with carsguide.com in the run-up to the reveal of the then still unseen updated Patrol, which docked in South Africa towards the end of 2020, Lester stated that the V8 “answers a question a lot of consumers are asking” and that plans to either downsize it or add electrification are not being mentioned.
While viewed at the time as a thinly swipe at Toyota’s decision to opt for a twin-turbocharged V6 in the then still to-be-launched Land Cruiser 300, the supposed u-turn by Nissan is set to yield better results with reports of the V6 producing more power and the torque than the 298kW/560Nm offered by the V8.
As a comparison, the 3.5-litre badged 3.4-litre twin-blown V6 in the Land Cruiser 300 delivers 305kW/650Nm, an uptake of 21kW/106Nm over the normally aspirated 5.7-litre V8 that powered the Land Cruiser 200 in select markets such as the United States and Middle East.
The expected switch in power is set to be expanded to the Patrol’s North American cousin, the Armada, and the Titan/Titan XD bakkies, which use the same platform and competes against the Land Cruiser-based Tundra that debuted last year powered by the same downsized V6.
Back in 2019, is was reported that development of the Y63 Patrol had already started with improvements of a 500 kg weight drop despite the retention of the ladder-frame chassis and low range gearbox.
“It’s one of the oldest names in the world. It is 70 years old. It is one of the longest lasting names. This is going to come our way and what an honour to do that,” Nissan’s Head of Design, Alfonso Albaisa said at the time.
Despite its reveal being some ways off, don’t be surprised if more details or rumours emerge over the coming weeks and months.
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