Until now all the next generation Nissan Titan photos we have seen have been more or less merely test mules using the existing Nissan Titan body/frame with its new engine shoehorned into the bay. Little was able to be discerned about the nature of the actual looks of the 2016 version.
With its full introduction only a few months away we are finally seeing what is likely a near production ready version of the coming diesel Titan being taken out on the road. While still heavily camouflaged at this point there are a number of items worth pointing out in these photos.
First we have the single exhaust pipe and a small one at that. Look at any heavy duty diesel truck and you will see a giant honking exhaust pipe hanging out the back to expend all those gases. Evidently one example of how a smaller turbo diesel will change things up is in the exhaust design. Lighter and in only a single outlet is different than a lot of the diesel trucks out there today.
Secondly we have evidence of the differentiation of the '16 Titan from its Ram counterpart. The next gen Titan was originally going to be co-developed by Nissan and Chrysler/Dodge/Ram. When that deal fell apart a few years back one wondered just how much would Nissan pull from the early Ram designs for its next fullsize truck. Well, in terms of rear suspension?? Not much. While Ram has moved to a coil sprung rear suspension these photos show that the Titan has retained the leaf spring suspension that is more common (and simpler?) You might argue that the coilspring setup of the Ram is a more advanced system and maybe you're right...but its nice to see that Nissan went back to the board and came up with their own idea rather than taking what was Ram's preference at the time of their cooperation.
We also see evidence in these photos of additional nods to fuel economy found on most modern trucks including the aero skirt at the very front of the truck. These have been viewed as major targets for curbs, rock and other debris typical of locations where fullsize trucks operate but have become fairly standard across the industry and one of the first things to be removed by many offroad oriented owners.
Lastly, size-wise the new Titan looks to have beefed up quite a bit compared to its prior version. Asian trucks (the Toyota Tundra and Titan) have always been viewed as being just slightly undersized compared to their American brethren--a 7/8ths size truck or the like. The crew-cab version here does not appear to lack for bulk or length with the passenger cab looking particularly cavernous. The windshield also looks more raked than its predecessor and should help the overall aero and diesel sipping nature of the vehicle.
Here's hoping we see more of this in less and less disguised versions in the period leading up to its full introduction in Detroit in January '15.
