When we see a car company that we are familiar with release a car that is ultra-cool in other countries we immediately want to have it here in the US. Whether it’s because we are selfish and think we should have the best of everything or because we know how well the model might do in the US is an argument for another day, but the reality is when a company is successful we feel slighted when our market isn’t thought of first. Of course, as fickle Americans we want to be able to pick and choose what comes to our shores, we don’t want the junkers out there that seem to run on hamsters on their own wheel, but we want the high powered performance monsters to give us something else to excite us.
The latest offering that doesn’t get to travel to our wide open country is the Nissan Patrol Nismo. You might think “did you just say Nismo?” and yes I did. As we all know when Nissan puts Nismo at the end of the name of any vehicle it is surely a performance model that we all want to get behind the wheel. If you want to drive this SUV though you would have to head to Europe and the Middle East. In fact, Nissan is launching a Nismo sub-brand in the Middle East, where all the oil money is and buyers are all about power and precision; sounds a lot like the US in a way.
The Nissan Patrol is one that you won’t be familiar with either because it’s not part of our lineup at all. Nissan does have a form of it here in that carries the Infiniti QX80 nameplate but it’s not the Patrol, it’s a luxury laden beast that would never see the Nismo tuning at all.
Making the Patrol a Nismo worthy model Nissan tuned the 5.6-liter V8 engine up from 400 horsepower to 428 to give it more power for more speed. The package also adds a gorgeous body kit, 22-inch wheels and better aerodynamics along with a Bilstein suspension kit. If you aren’t jealous yet I’d be shocked, this big SUV certainly looks the part of power and speed that we want in a great SUV and as always we feel these vehicles should be offered on our soil. Even though these changes are not the most dramatic Nismo upgrades for a vehicle, they are amazing and seem to fit the character of the Patrol perfectly.
As we all learned when we were younger, sharing is caring and it seems when it comes to the Patrol, Nissan doesn’t care about the US market at all. Possibly that’s because the Patrol is meant for a larger market, we are certainly a small market in some regards, especially compared to China. That doesn’t mean we can’t yearn for this beauty to come our way and hope Nissan does the same to one of their SUVs that is offered here so we can enjoy a large and in charge Nismo tuned brawler.
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