Nissan considers plan to build performance version of Navara that could beat Ford Ranger Raptor

While Ford prepares for the production of the new Ranger Raptor in Europe, other automakers like Nissan are also looking into the idea of an off road oriented pickup. During an interview with Australian publication Motoring, the Japanese automaker suggested a similar go fast treatment similar to that of the new Ranger.

Meanwhile, Nissan’s Australian division has already urged executives to carry on with the more powerful Navarra. This project has not been officially confirmed, also because the small pickup shares the same platform with the more luxurious Mercedes-Benz X Class. Therefore, it will not be possible to see Nissan adopt the same 3.0 liter turbodiesel V6 found on the new Benz.

Ashwani Gupta, Renault Nissan’s global light commercial vehicle boss, informed the publication that he will soon be meeting with Australian executives during the launch of the Series 3 D23 Navara. He also mentioned that he would be open to seeing a more rugged Navara.

During the interview, Gupta mentioned that if you asked him about developing a Raptor’s rival earlier, he would have said that it is not one of their priorities. But times have changed and now, the automaker sees it as something they would like to study.

The thing is, for Nissan to build a Navara that is good enough to rival the Ranger Raptor, it will need a number of upgrades. For instance, the Ranger comes with a 2.0 liter turbodiesel engine that produces 210 horsepower (156 kilowatts) and 369 pound feet (500 Newton metres) of torque, paired with Fox shocks, huge off road tires and a new 10 speed gearbox. To compare it with the most powerful Navara, this model has a 2.3 liter engine delivering 188 horsepower (140 kilowatts). Notably, we think that the answer lies in the 3.0 liter diesel V6 that the X Class already has.

Moreover, Gupta said that they have all the technology to do that, while referring to the Mercedes diesel engine on the Navara. He said that they will study it, and that if it works for both the business and the customer, then they will work on it.

If Nissan does push through with the high performance NP300 Navara, there is a tiny chance that we will see it in the United States. Instead, there is a possibility of a new Frontier that could be paired with the high performance NP300 Navara.

In Australia, Nissan Managing Director Stephen Lester said that he and his team took a chance to lobby for a wild high performance Navara with Renault Nissan global light commercial vehicle boss Ashwani Gupta who will be going to Australia soon to launch the Series 3 D23 Navara.