Nissan Patrol marks 75 years with new Armada and Middle East editions

Patrol badging returns to American roads for the first time since 1969 on a new Armada Patrol PRO-4X trim for the 2027 Armada, one of two special models Nissan has announced to mark three quarters of a century of its longest-serving nameplate. The off-roader has run to seven generations since 1951.

Armada Patrol PRO-4X and anniversary edition

Based on the existing Armada PRO-4X, the US trim carries Patrol badges inside and out. A limited-run 75th Anniversary Patrol has also been created exclusively for the Middle East, initially set at 1 951 units in reference to the year the nameplate began. That flagship Platinum V6TT model gets Copper Gold exterior accents, a Bordeaux interior and anniversary detailing inspired by the region.

Ivan Espinosa, President and CEO of Nissan, called the Patrol “a vehicle that truly represents the heartbeat of our brand”, adding that the company is “looking ahead to Patrol’s next chapter”.

Nissan Patrol history from 1951

The first-generation 4W60 debuted in Japan in 1951 as Nissan’s first four-wheel-drive vehicle and climbed Mount Fuji that same year. In 1960 the 60 Series took the model international, and in Australia it became the first motorised vehicle to cross the Simpson Desert, covering more than 1 100 sand dunes in 12 days.

South Africa received pickup and long-wheelbase wagon versions of the Patrol 160, which arrived in 1980 with five-door and seven-seat layouts. In 1987 the “Fanta Limon” Patrol 160 became the first diesel-powered vehicle to finish the Paris-Dakar Rally in the overall top 10. Two Y61 models later completed the 15,000-mile “Long Way Down” expedition from John O’Groats to Cape Town in 2007 with a single puncture.

Seventh-generation Patrol and record attempts

Records followed with the sixth-generation Y62, which towed a 170.9 metric ton aircraft 50 metres in 2013, set the fastest ascent of a 100-metre sand dune by a production vehicle in 2015 and gathered 180 Patrols for the largest synchronised car dance in 2018.

Unveiled in Abu Dhabi in 2024, the current seventh generation uses a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 producing 425 horsepower and 700 Nm. Production of it and the US Armada began at the Nissan Shatai Kyushu plant in Japan in 2025.

Where the Nissan Patrol is sold

Today the Patrol is available in 42 markets, including the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Australia, and is known as the Armada in the US and the Safari in Japan. Nissan says the model is coming to new markets soon.

Supplied by MotorPress (Tanje Wandrag, Media Queries, Nissan South Africa)

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