Next-Gen Nissan Titan Could Be a Real Player with New Diesel V-8

After several years of middling sales, a breakup with Dodge, and an eleventh-hour return to square one, Nissan’s Titan program has often seemed just an “i” and a “c” short from a more fitting name. And then Nissan announced that the next-generation Titan will be available with a 5.0-liter turbo-diesel V-8 made by Cummins. Okay, Nissan. Now this is compelling.

The all-new engine will give the Titan more than 300 horsepower and well beyond 500 lb-ft of torque—enough that Nissan probably will be peddling the torquiest light-duty truck in America. Nissan also will be selling one of only two diesel light-duty pickups in the country, too. (The second is none other than the Ram 1500, which launches with a 250-hp, 420-lb-ft diesel V-6 later this year.) If the halfway-to-heavy-duty frame from the NV van ends up beneath the Titan, as we’ve heard it will, Nissan could have a very competitive pickup truck. The only downside here is that a 5.0-liter V-8 is a nonstarter in a compact pickup, so there’s no chance of seeing it in a future Frontier.

A certain irony colors this whole affair. The second-generation Titan was supposed to be on the road by now—and would be, had Chrysler not gone bankrupt in 2009 and canceled its agreement to rebadge the Ram for Nissan. Here we are in 2013, Nissan is almost done with its in-house-developed Titan, and the Ram parallels are abundant. Nissan will offer a diesel V-8 developed by Cummins, which also supplies the diesel engine in the heavy-duty Rams. The only other light-duty truck in the U.S. offering a diesel engine for now is the Ram 1500—and that has a V-6, developed by the Italian firm VM Motori. The guy starring in the promotional videos Nissan released for this Cummins deal is named Fred Diaz; he’s Nissan’s head of sales and marketing. Diaz’s previous job? CEO of Ram Trucks. Nissan poached him this April after Carlos Ghosn said the company needed to approach the American pickup market more seriously.

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Even though Nissan hasn’t announced the new Titan’s release date, we expect it to arrive in the second half of 2014 as a 2015 model. For more intel on the upcoming Titan, take a look at our previous coverage here, here, and here.

Source: CarAndDriver