Right now, Nissan has a solid mid-size truck offering in the reworked Frontier. The Pro-4X version is pretty great as it sits. But more could be better, right? In the truck segment, the answer there is usually “hells yes, thanks!” So that’s why we here at Hooniverse believe Nissan needs to cook up a full-on Frontier Nismo that’s prepped for off-road battle.

What does a truck like this need to be interesting? We have thoughts…

Our own Kamil Kaluski says:

Hear me out: the twin-turbo 400hp V6 from the Infiniti Q50S and the new Nissan Z…. In the new Nissan Frontier, on soft pre-runner suspension and 33” tires. Sell it for $45,000.

He’s on the right path. But his price is actually too low. To make this worthwhile for Nissan it has to be in the low $50,000 range. And it could do well there. We don’t yet have a Ranger Raptor, but a Ranger Tremor is just above $45k. A loaded Tacoma TRD Pro stickers for nearly $50k before markups. The Colorado ZR2 starts in the mid $40s but typically lands around $50k as well. So Nissan could start this just under $50k but expect to pay right about there once you’re done loading it up.

But the engine, if they could make it work, would be the game-changer in the segment. Everything else is pretty fun, but an actual off-road brute with true grunt under the hood would be eye-opening. And Nissan could beat Ford to this market space, since who knows when the next-gen Ranger arrives and brings a true Ranger Raptor with it.

So come on Nissan, make this happen – the truck market is hot right now. You can turn up the heat.