Warrior inspires Nissan Navara Raptor rival
Local development of top-shelf Navara Warrior inspires global high-performance ute studyA Nissan Navara rival for the Ford Ranger Raptor performance ute is under study and it’s been inspired by the Melbourne-developed and assembled Nissan Navara N-TREK Warrior.
That exciting news has leaked out of today’s global reveal of the D23 Nissan Navara’s mid-life update.
Speaking to Australian journalists via a zoom call, Nissan global product planning boss Ivan Espinosa and the Japanese car-maker’s pick-up product chief Emmanuel Toledo confirmed interest in a high-performance Navara for the next-generation model due in 2024.
But Toledo went further, enthusing about the local Navara N-TREK Warrior and Premcar, the Melbourne-based company that engineers and assembles it for Nissan Australia.
“We have great impression of the N-TREK Warrior and we are taking this as an example of a very good collaboration with Premcar and we are thinking something global – something for global,” Toledo said.
“I cannot say more things but … we think the performance of this vehicle is amazing.”
Espinosa then chimed in: “We cannot elaborate more, we are talking about next-generation … but it is something we are considering seriously, bringing something a bit on top in terms of performance.”
The Ford Ranger Raptor was developed by Ford’s Australian product development centre for global markets and has been a critical and commercial success, with praise heaped on it for its on- and off-road manners.
A new Nissan Navara Warrior based on the new PRO-4X model that will headline the MY21 Navara range when it goes on sale in early 2021 has already been confirmed, although timing has not.
Earlier in the same interview Espinosa was happy to confirm a Raptor rival was a vehicle that appealed to Nissan.
“That is something we are exploring, for the time being we have the PRO-4X,” he said.
“It is something we are considering and monitoring. It is not something that is so easy to execute because you need to plan at the very beginning having some frame counter-measures and some suspension travel changes and geometry changes.
“So we are looking at, but not in the short term.”
How much input Premcar might have into developing a global Navara rival for the Raptor was not defined.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
