2016 Nissan Titan Cummins Diesel Spy Shots

 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.

Nissan Frontier Diesel Runner Formally Introduced...

 So this is the reveal at the Chicago Auto Show.  The Nissan Diesel Runner powered by a Cummins diesel.

A 2.8L four cylinder engine that is producing about 200 hp and 350 ft. lb. of torque.  Fuel economy is estimated to be 35% better than the current V6 Frontier putting it at about 30 mpg.  The vehicle this engine has been dropped into is your standard 2014 Nissan Frontier Desert Runner.  This will not be the case in the future.  If the 35% gain in mpg is what they are getting with the current version of the Frontier then I would imagine with lighter weight material and a new design the future Frontier should improve upon this figure.

The next generation Frontier will also need to see improvements in its frame and structure to handle the towing capacity the new engine will allow.  So while this stands as a nice proof of concept and a way to gauge interest in a small(ish) Nissan diesel pickup, it should in no way be thought of as a representation of the next Frontier which is still a ways a way.  The primary goal here I would think would be to continue to associate the Nissan name with Cummins and get the public thinking about Nissan as THE diesel truck company for small and mid/full size light duty trucks.  Oh, and that carbon-fiber hood with the acrylic see-through hood is awesome!

New 2015 Nissan Titan Spy Shot

Why we don't have more shots from this encounter??  I dunno...but at least they got one of the Cummins powered mule that is out testing in Arizona and Michigan currently.  While the photographer got a shot of the Cummins logo on the truck for the first time, the photos of the business end of the truck where the diesel has been shoehorned into somewhat modified sheetmetal are missing.  If there was any question that Nissan would try to market its new Titan around the Cummins powerplant, I think its gone now.

I would anticipate the production version to carry similar and multiple LARGE Cummins logos and tags as the Cummins name is far more marketable to American truck buyers than "Nissan" is at this point.  As I said before...expect these shots to come out more and more frequently as time goes on...

Have Your Own Juke-R Built

Of course you have to get the vehicle from St. Petersburg...but it evidently is cheaper than buying it directly from Nissan at $600,000.  The company that builds the vehicle smartly bought the Juke-R website and has been marketing it across the globe.

This weekend in fact one of their first vehicles will be competing against Mr. Ken Block at the Gymkhana GRiD event in Madrid this weekend.  The Russian, custom built Juke-R contains the same drivetrain as the factory Juke-R and also comes with a roll cage and other upgrades.  What the Russian company offers that the factory version does not--upgraded engine tuning options.  At a mere 700 HP the Juke-R nicely outruns a Bugatti Veyron but versions up to over 1000 HP are available.

Explore buying your own Juke-R here:  http://www.juke-r.com/

More on the impetus and Russian company behind the the non-factory Juke-R:  http://jalopnik.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-russian-juke-r-gy-1456883008?utm_campaign=socialflow_jalopnik_facebook&utm_source=jalopnik_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Nissan Juke Nismo RS to Debut at LA Auto Show

Coming in late November through early December is the 2013 LA Auto Show where Nissan will debut at least two new NISMO vehicles.

The only one confirmed at this time is the Juke NISMO RS.  This now makes four distinct models of the Juke that are available.  You have your regular Juke (in all its associated trim levels), the Juke NISMO, the Juke-R and now the Juke NISMO RS.

The standard Juke, Juke NISMO and Juke NISMO RS are those that are or will be found at your local dealership while the Juke-R is the highly limited production, half a million dollar Frankenstein project that sees the transplant of a GT-R driveline into the standard chassis.  The normal Juke comes with 188hp while the NISMO version saw a bump to 197hp along with a host of suspension and body tweaks to make it stand out.

The NISMO RS to be introduced in LA will take its performance to another level beyond that of the "plain"  NISMO but not anywhere near that of the Juke-R.  Though details are scant, an increase in power to significantly beyond 200hp (in theory to match that of the Mazdaspeed 3 which puts out some 263hp) along with an upgraded cooling system, suspension and aero designs are all likely.  In my dreams they would kit it out like a true stage rally car but I'm betting they still focus on the street handling nature of the platform.  At the very least they hopefully offer a manual transmission to be paired with the AWD version as in the NISMO (non-RS) model the manual transmission is only available with the FWD model leaving anyone wanting AWD relegated to letting a computer row the gates.

Unconfirmed by Nissan is what the second NISMO model will be at the LA Auto Show.  Some say a NISMO GT-R...I say it is a Nissan Versa hatchback with the NISMO label since they already offer a Nissan Pulsar (Versa here in the States) SSS elsewhere in the world and doing some minor tweaks to that version would easily give NISMO another model to its "performance" lineup.  This version would contain the same 1.6L turbo engine seen in the Juke, leading to all sorts of high hp possibilities for the small hatchback.

New 2015 Nissan Titan Spy Shot and Engine Info...

Not really that interesting in terms of the spy shot--just a shot of the Titan mule with its enlarged nose roaming around what looks like an airport for disabled airplanes (that DC-3 in the background doesn't have any propellers/engines).  Though maybe they are testing out the towing capacity of the vehicle by pulling large airplanes around!

That said, Cummins released the info on the commercial version of the V8 Diesel that will be going into the 2015 Titan.  The commercial version will see use from school buses to ambulances to work vans, etc.  Which is why you may see a Nissan NV commercial van with this same diesel engine in it at some point.  Also speculated is that the next Titan will have a coil sprung rear and carry many of the design and technical developments seen in Infiniti's QX56/Nissan Patrol.  We'll see.

We do know that the commercial version will put out between 200 and 275 HP producing 560 ft. lb. of torque.  The version going into the Titan will produce at least 300 HP so we'll see some tweaking on the torque ratings too.  The Titan will also possess ceramic glow plugs ensuring a 2 second startup in temps down to -25F.

New Nissan Cummins Titan and engine...

Cummins Confirms Diesel Engine for Nissan Titan

Confirming what has long been suspected/rumored, Cummins is announcing today their agreement to produce diesel engines for the next generation Nissan Titan.  Rumored to be a 4 cyl. turbo diesel we may get more details later today and perhaps they will be producing a large mill as well.  This is big news as Nissan will have beaten Toyota to the punch to being the first foreign manufacturer to embrace the torque, towing and mpg possibilities that oil burners provide.

Given the way public companies work I would envision that this announcement means that the  Nissan bound diesels will be rolling off the assembly line within the next 12 months, indicating that the '15 Titan should be on dealership floors in Q3/Q4 '14.  More details to follow as they become available.

Gimme my Nissan Titan diesel NOW!!

Cummins confirms production of diesel engines for Nissan...

NISMO Juke RS Confirmed For 2014

Multiple sources are reporting that evidently Nissan is not content to leave the Juke alone.  Nissan has confirmed that it will offer a Nissan NISMO Juke RS in 2014.  This will be in addition to your base Juke, the NISMO Juke and the ultra expenssive Juke R.

The NISMO RS will fall somewhere short of the Juke R and its GT-R driveline but will reportedly see a substantial boost in power over the 215 hp present in the NISMO Juke and may even see a different engine entirely than the 1.6L turbo seen in the lower two models.  Additionally the RS will see a more extensive aero kit than the regular NISMO version possesses.

While this won't get you to full Juke-R status it certainly will be one of the most radical autos out there and would just be SO begging to be flogged in the dirt.

NISMO Juke RS confirmed for '14

2014 or 2015 Nissan Titan to Go Hybrid?

Nah, I doubt it at this point--at least not in the first versions to be released but there is now speculation out there as to the next generation Titan getting a hybrid powerplant at some point in its lifetime.

To me there are too many drawbacks (high cost, unproven design, market desire, etc., etc.) for Nissan to step into this area with its next Titan.  Given the minuscule portion of the market Nissan currently grabs in the truck market, stepping full into this arena seems a tad risky.  The market hasn't even shown that they want/trust Nissan with their truck buying dollars so why go way off the deep end with a hybrid/electric full size truck.

The article that drives such speculation can be found here: http://www.tflcar.com/2013/05/what-engines-will-power-the-next-2015-nissan-titan/ and comes from the same source as got the original spy shots that have been seen here and elsewhere.  The benefits of having the electric driveline (MPG, instant torque, something new in the market, etc.) are certainly there but I'd prefer an efficient and less expensive diesel option to any hybrid.  Nissan does have a hybrid Pathfinder coming as well as a hybrid M35h but both are "car" based applications and not exactly heavy duty platforms.  As we get ever closer, I am hoping for more and more tidbits to be revealed.  So far, Nissan hasn't tipped their hand.

Nissan Pulsar SSS Specs and Release...

As we have previously predicted here, the Nissan Pulsar (Versa Note here in the US) in Australia is the first to receive confirmation of the hopped up version of the hot hatch.

The Pulsar will receive the "SSS" badging and is lauded by the initial article as being a decent competitor for the VW Golf GTI Polo (not the same as the US Golf).  While carrying a tad more HP than the Polo at 188 it does sport slightly less torque at 177 ft. lb.  Under the hood of this Nissan with be a turbo 1.6L vs. the NA 1.8L in the regular version of the Pulsar/Versa.  This engine matches EXACTLY the specs on the 1.6L turbo seen in the Juke and it is a safe bet that the SSS will be housing the same MR16DDT mill.  Knowing that the Juke engine has seen its HP pushed to 197 in the NISMO version of that CUV means that there is even more performance to be had out of this SSS particularly given the Pulsar will be about 600 pounds less than the Juke. The SSS will come standard...with a standard.  If you're a moron you can pay an additional $2500 or so for the privilege of having a computer do the shifting with an available CVT. 

These measurements should translate well to the US--if it comes here--which I can't forsee it not.  Likley dubbed the Versa Note NISMO I'm guessing, this will represent Nissan's entry into the performance end of the B-segment along with the Ford Fiesta.  I would anticipate Nissan USA announcing its arrival here in Q3 of this year and at dealerships by the end of '13 to Q1 of '14.

Oh, and the photo above is NOT of the SSS which I'm sure will come with more body cladding and such that always seems to come along with "performance" models...

Nissan Pulsar SSS announced...

New NISMO Dual Exit Exhaust for Titan...

Surprised this hasn't come out before now.  Being able to finance it into the cost of the vehicle in its initial purchase is a plus as well.  Well...its a benefit until I find out how much it costs which could be quite inflated.

Still, the exhaust looks really nice and the additional 11 HP and 8 ft. lbs of torque are pretty good for a simple exhaust upgrade.  Its also covered by a 3 year warranty.  If I had a Titan to tow my race truck with, I'd be looking to grab one!

NISMO Titan Dual Exhaust...