We love an overpowered truck with non-existent wheel well space at TopGear.com, and Nissan Motorsport’s latest experimental project, the Frontier ‘Tarmac,’ is pretty much all of those things.
It’s a one-off, track-ready muscle truck that is loosely based on the Frontier PRO-X trim level, but instead has a water-cooled supercharger stuck to its 3.8-liter V6. That not only means more noise and tire smoke, but a hefty power increase to 446hp and 542Nm of torque.
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The Tarmac also gets upgraded brakes, with two calipers per corner at the rear to make handbrake turns easier. There is also a new bespoke suspension setup with a six-inch lowering kit and adjustable coilovers. Because of that, it now sits as low to the ground as the average ant.
Coated in ‘Afterburn Orange’ paint, the carbon fiber bodywork has proper Need for Speed-looking bumpers and fins, including a rear wing on the tailgate, and wheel arches that make the Tarmac four inches wider than the normal car.
The 20in forged Nismo wheels are wrapped around Yokohama Advan tires, and underbody neon lighting is thrown in for good measure.
Inside, there’s a carbonized, part-Alcantara steering wheel, complemented by Recaro seats with more use of Afterburn Orange. But the main attraction is the big hydraulic handbrake, which instantly makes us want hit the track and race.
At its debut at this year’s SEMA show, Nissan Motorsport manager Kevin Lutz said: “The floor at SEMA used to be filled with low-slung, high-performance midsized trucks, so it's easy to imagine a return of that trend. Owners of trucks like the Frontier frequently love to customise their vehicles, so we're considering how we can best serve their needs beyond off-road parts.”
For more context, Nissan says the Frontier Tarmac also previews certain, futuristic Nismo performance parts. No word on whether said parts will come together to form a no-holds-barred performance truck like this for official sale though, sadly. We’re sure you’d be interested in that.
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
