- The 2024 Nissan Rogue is transformed into an off-road SUV with the Project Rugged Rogue concept for SEMA.
- The 2024 Nissan Sentra concept channels past SE-R models with myriad performance upgrades, such as a highly modified turbo four and manual gearbox.
- The 2024 Nissan Frontier at SEMA isn’t a concept, it’s a real-life off-road race truck that’s packed with NISMO equipment.
Right now, the most exciting models in Nissan’s portfolio are the GT-R and Z—both offer track-focused NISMO models. With this year’s SEMA show kicking off next week, Nissan has transformed two of its most mainstream models into tantalizing concepts that are turnt up with NISMO add-ons.
A Truly Rugged Rogue
The regular Rogue has no business tackling tangled terrain or venturing very far from paved roads. Now imagine a world where the compact SUV has a jacked-up ride height and mud-terrain tires like the Ford Ranger Raptor—amber running lights above the grille are also aped. That’s the Project Rugged Rogue that Nissan is NISMO fitted with all manner of NISMO equipment.
Wearing a livery with a Reese’s cups’ color scheme and a topographical design, the Rogue concept has a roof rack packed with a bike and a kayak. There’s a total of six front-mounted fog lights, carbon-fiber fender flares, and side rock rails as well as a front brush guard. NISMO also supplied a three-inch suspension lift and 18-inch wheels that are bronze up front and black out back. Those mount on a set of 32-inch Yokohama Geolander M/T G003 tires.
While there’s no mention of any powertrain changes, the Rogue’s 201-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder breaths through a custom center-exit exhaust that, frankly, looks badass.
A Modern-Day Sentra SE-R
The NISMO-badged Sentra was killed off after the 2019 model year, and if there had been funeral, we doubt many would have attended. The Sentra DET concept that was built for SEMA is worth shedding a tear for. It features a host of prototype NISMO parts as well as a heavily modified powertrain—that it pairs with a six-speed manual versus the standard CVT is the cherry on top. “DET” is an acronym for Nissan’s past performance engines, but it’s wordy enough to not be worthy of writing out.
Sure, we could do without the cheesy graphics, and we prefer the wheels on our cars to have matching colors on both sides, but a Sentra with hood-mounted heat extractors has our attention regardless. Beneath those slots sits the standard cars’s MR20DD 2.0-liter turbo four. Normally it makes a wimpy 149 horsepower and 146 pound-feet of torque, but this isn’t the normal engine. It has been souped-up with a higher compression ratio, a bigger turbo, stronger internals, and an upgraded fuel system. If you don’t see this Sentra coming, you’ll likely hear its cat-back exhaust setup. Nissan didn’t mention the Sentra’s new output, but rest assured its considerably more than the stock engine.
In addition to the overhaul under the hood, the Sentra DET concept has a revised chassis that benefits from brakes pulled from the Nissan Z and coil-overs and anti-roll bars courtesy of NISMO. It grips and rips on a set of 18-inch Yokohama Advan Neova summer tires, with front-seat passengers being better held in place with Recaro competition seats.
Frontier for Off-Road Racing
The Frontier is a fine mid-size pickup truck, and we dig the new retro-inspired Hardbody model. The Forsberg Racing-developed Frontier that’s heading to SEMA is more than fine, it’s frickin’ sweet! It’s also not a concept, it’s a race-proven rig that competed in the NORRA 500 (look it up).
The Forsberg Frontier features more stickers than a Lisa Frank booklet, but they’re all tastefully applied. The look is completed by black beadlock NISMO wheels wrapped with gnarly Yokohama Geolander mud-terrain tires, which are buoyed by a lifted and enhanced suspension. Current Frontier owners can also find parts such as the roof rack, light bar, and rock sliders in the NISMO catalogue to copy the off-roader’s look.
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Senior Editor
Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.
