Nissan sends off Y61 Patrol with Legend Edition

Nissan Australia has marked the retirement of its legendary Y61 Patrol, which would have celebrated its 20th anniversary Down Under next year, with a final special-edition called the Legend Edition.

Limited to just 300 units, the Patrol Legend Edition wagon is priced from $57,990 plus on-road costs with a five-speed manual transmission and $60,990 with a four-speed auto.

That makes it just $600 more expensive than the Y61 Patrol ST on which it's based, despite the fitment of a host of genuine accessories with a combined retail price of more than $10,000.

These include an airbag-compatible heavy-duty steel bull bar with electric winch, tow bar, satellite-navigation, reversing camera, roof rack, snorkel, soft spare wheel cover and custom decal.

The Australia-specific special-edition will be available in White Diamond, Polar White, Platinum paint colours.

Like all Y61 Patrols, the Legend Edition is powered by Nissan's proven 118kW/380Nm (345Nm auto) 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, driving through a two-speed transfer case low 2.02:1 low ratio.

Other mechanical details – like 17-inch alloy wheels with 275/65 R17 tyres, a 95-litre main and 30-litre sub fuel tanks and a 3200kg towing capacity (2500kg auto) – also remain unchanged.

First launched here in 1997, the Y61 Patrol wagon has found 104,510 Australian homes over six generations.

Combined with the preceding Y60 model (52,461 sold between 1987 and 1997) and the current petrol V8-only Y62 Patrol (introduced in 2013, then reduced to a $69,990 starting price last year), close to 160,000 Patrol wagons have been bought by Aussies since 1987.

In addition, Nissan Australia sold 18,248 UY60 Patrol cab-chassis utes between 1988 and 1999, and 37,112 UY61 Patrol utes between 1999 and October 2016.

“The Nissan Patrol has chiselled its reputation for ruggedness and dependability in some of Australia’s harshest conditions,” said Nissan Australia CEO and managing director Richard Emery.

“Patrol has a long list of achievements in Australia, most notably being the first vehicle to cross Australia’s remote Simpson Desert, which it did in 1962. We celebrated this milestone in 2012, just ahead of the Australian release of the impressive Patrol Y62, the natural successor to the highly credentialed Y61 Patrol wagon.

“The Nissan Patrol Y61 Legend Edition is a fitting representation of what this model has delivered for the last 20 years. Its collection of Nissan genuine accessories highlights not only its off-road capabilities but the spirit of adventure that Patrol has represented to generations of Australians.

"And in this 50th year of Nissan Motor Company Australia, it’s the perfect time for it to pass the baton of Nissan’s off-road leadership to the Patrol Y62.”

Nissan Patrol Wagon: Model chronology
1951-1960 — Generation 1: 4W Series
1960-1980 — Generation 2: G60 Series
1980-1987 — Generation 3: MQ Patrol
1987-1997 — Generation 4: GQ Patrol Y60
1997-2017 — Generation 5: GU Patrol Y61
2013- Current — Generation 6: Patrol Y62