NAIAS 2016: Nissan Titan Warrior Concept is Probably Not What You Expected
After revealing the kinda, sorta heavy-duty, kinda, sorta light-duty Titan XD at the North American International Auto Show last year, Nissan is looking to continue its pickup truck momentum with a concept that builds upon the new XD’s strengths.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the light-duty Titan we thought would bow in Detroit. Instead, the Titan Warrior Concept is a modified Titan XD that takes the truck to its next logical conclusion — an off-road capable, well-appointed RAM Power Wagon competitor.
José Muñoz, executive vice president of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and chairman of Nissan North America, Inc., said in a release before the concept’s reveal that it could “drive right off the auto show stage and retrace the historic route of Nissan’s off-road racing victories in the Baja Peninsula.” However, the Titan Warrior Concept likely wouldn’t cross the finish line first; performance modifications to the Titan XD have been limited to suspension upgrades, the 5-liter Cummins turbodiesel V-8 left alone with its 555 lbs-ft of torque.
In addition to the typical SEMA formula of big wheels, bigger tires and a suspension lift, the Titan Warrior Concept has its fenders flared an extra 3 inches on each side to fit the larger rubber. Modified LED lighting at the front and rear, a custom grille, oversized skid plates and cab/tailgate spoilers round out its visually aggressive game plan.
Instead of stripping the interior a la pre-runner, the Titan Warrior Concept is appointed closer to a top-trim Platinum Reserve Titan and finished with a custom milled aluminum steering wheel, hot-and-cold drink containers, and gauges for days.
Don’t expect this particular truck to be hitting dealer lots anytime soon. However, a more aggressive truck could be in the cards for Nissan should the Titan XD sell as well as it hopes.
Titan XD is arriving at dealers now. A light-duty Titan is expected to debut later this year.
More by Mark Stevenson
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I do think this Nissan Mall Crawler is better than the Raptor of PowerWagon. First a diesel in an off road orientated pickup! You can't get better than that. Nissan would be silly not to produce this vehicle as a halo Titan, in the same line as the Raptor, PowerWagon and TRD Toyotas. These will sell.
An interesting contrast to the Honda Ridgeline. Honda delivers everything most truck buyers need while Nissan is focused on the rugged out-doorsy image truck buyers want to project. I think Nissan might have a better grasp on truck market than Honda.