Nissan To Show Turbo Sentra, Off-Road Rogue Concepts At SEMA 2023
Nissan’s getting its sporty car groove back.
Look out Nissan Z, you aren’t the only one in the Nissan lineup with sporting aspirations. Nissan released details of a couple of different SEMA concept vehicles. Although the brand has labeled them strictly as concepts, any of the three would be cool little vehicles at any given Nissan dealership.
Nissan Rugged Rogue
First in the series of concept vehicles, is the Nissan Rugged Rogue. To create the Rugged Rogue, Nissan took the recently updated 2024 Rogue and threw a smattering of off-road accouterments to the crossover; gone is the Rogue’s strictly on-road pretense. It’s been replaced with a mean appearance that goes beyond just sheet metal. It’s adorned with an aggressive off-road NISMO roof rack and front bumper guard, both of which have 6-inch running lights. The hood-mounted driving lights are both cool and functional. Of course, the carbon fiber spoiler and fender flares are cool, too.
Mechanically, the Rogue Rugged has had some upgrades. The crossover features a custom NISMO 3-inch lift, to house the new 18-inch tires wrapped in Yokohama Geolandr G003 mud terrain tires. It has a custom, dual-exit center-mounted exhaust, too.
Forsberg Frontier Off-Road Race Truck
Technically, this isn’t an all-new truck, as Nissan has already raced the specially-made prototype NORRA 500 race this past week. But, the truck is back from the competition and will be on display at the SEMA show. Out of all the concepts, this may be the least prototype of them all. The truck has the Nismo Off-road lift kit high-performance suspension kit, and a set of Geolandr 003 M/T tires.
Nissan Sentra DET Concept
Finally, and arguably the most interesting of the three, is the Nissan Sentra DET concept. DET, which stands for “Dual overhead cam, Electronic Fuel Injection, Turbo,” is a car inspired of sport compacts and the Canadian Nissan Sentra Cup car race. Nissan took the standard Sentra sedan, and gave it a smattering of sport compact flavor, for a Honda Civic Si rivaling compact sedan.
Under the hood of the Sentra DET concept lies a turbocharged version of the 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the standard car. That engine is mated to a six-speed manual, driving the front wheels. The DET concept also features a prototype exhaust, and prototype swaybar and coilover set to boost the handling even further.
Nissan hasn’t said if any of these concepts will make production, but we have a hunch that something along the lines of the Sentra DET or Rogue Rugged may show up on dealer lots. This isn’t the first time Nissan’s teased a turbocharged Sentra. In 2013, it showed off the Sentra Nismo concept, and then introduced a formal production model in 2017. Hopefully, if Nissan does decide to release one, it will do so quicker than four years.
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Kevin has been obsessed with cars ever since he could talk. He even learned to read partially by learning and reading the makes and models on the back of cars, only fueling his obsession. Today, he is an automotive journalist and member of the Automotive Press Association. He is well-versed in electrification, hybrid cars, and vehicle maintenance.
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