Nissan’s booth at this year’s SEMA show has something we didn’t expect to see: the word Patrol. That’s right—the nameplate Nissan USA spent years politely ignoring is suddenly front and center, plastered on not one but two heavily modified off-road builds. For a vehicle Americans were never officially allowed to buy, the Patrol sure knows how to make a comeback.
For the uninitiated, the Nissan Patrol has long been Japan’s answer to the Toyota Land Cruiser. It debuted in 1951 and quickly became a global go-anywhere legend—everywhere except here. U.S. buyers only got a taste in 2017, when Nissan’s second-generation Armada quietly revealed itself to be little more than a rebadged Y62 Patrol. Same bones, different passport.
But now, at SEMA, Nissan’s pulling back the curtain. The company brought two very different takes on the Patrol spirit: a modern off-road support rig and a classic restomod monster.
Nissan Dune Patrol: Luxury Meets the Sandblaster
The first is the Nissan Dune Patrol, which Nissan describes as “the ultimate, ultra-comfortable support vehicle for the most extreme off-road events.” Translation: it’s built to hit the dunes hard without turning your spine into gravel.
Underneath, the Dune Patrol packs serious hardware—custom long-travel suspension bits including control arms, spindles, shock towers, and drive axles, all working with Bilstein-based coil-overs. None of it’s off-the-shelf, but that’s SEMA for you.
The good news? The truck is also a preview of what might come to Nissan’s NISMO accessories catalog. Among the prototype parts are high-clearance bumpers with LED driving lights, tow shackles, rock sliders, a low-profile roof rack with integrated storage boxes, and a NISMO cat-back exhaust. Inside, you’ll find a smattering of catalog-ready add-ons: floor mats, scuff guards, and seatback organizers—proof that Nissan’s thinking about practicality along with playtime.
Fosberg Racing Patrol: A 1,000-Horsepower Time Machine
If the Dune Patrol is about refinement, the Fosberg Racing Patrol is pure chaos. Based on a classic 1990 Y60-generation Patrol, this build is a love letter to old-school overlanding—with a dose of modern lunacy.
The chassis rides on a NISMO off-road suspension and 17-inch beadlock wheels wrapped in 35-inch Yokohama tires. Up top sits a Fosberg light bar bristling with NISMO LEDs. Inside, there’s no mistaking its racing intent: Recaro buckets, a quick-release steering wheel, and minimal creature comforts.
Then there’s the engine. The heart of this beast is a TB48 4.8-liter inline-six—an engine from the later Y61 Patrols—taken from a humble 248 horsepower to a wild 1,000 horsepower, courtesy of a Garrett Motion G42-1200 turbocharger. Best of all, Fosberg left the manual transmission intact. A thousand horses, three pedals, and solid axles? That’s the good kind of insanity.
The Return of a Legend
It’s refreshing to see Nissan embracing the Patrol name in the U.S.—even if only at a show like SEMA. Between the dune-bashing comfort rig and the turbocharged throwback, Nissan’s message is clear: the Patrol still has the chops to compete with the world’s toughest 4x4s.
You can see both trucks—alongside the latest Nissan Frontier and the Fosberg Racing NISMO GT-Z—at this year’s SEMA show. Whether you’re into factory-backed tech or old-school firepower, these builds prove one thing: the Patrol is no longer pretending to be an Armada.
Source: Nissan
