SEMA-Bound Nissan Frontier TARMAC is a Racer and Drifter Rolled Into One
The announcements and teasers keep coming as we get closer and closer to the 2024 SEMA Show in Las Vegas (Nov. 5-8).
Nissan is the automaker we want to focus on here, with a one-off concept called TARMAC that embodies the spirit of slammed muscle trucks of the past. It was designed and built in a collaboration between Nissan Motorsports, Nissan Design America and Forsberg Racing.
- Also: Nissan Brings Your Tailgate Parties to the Great Outdoors
- Also: Refreshed 2025 Nissan Frontier Gets Larger Screen, Slightly Better Towing
It’s kind of hard to recognize the 2025 Frontier that served as the foundation for this project (more specifically a PRO-X 4x2 model that Nissan offers in the U.S. but not in Canada). Finished in black and new-for-2025 Afterburn Orange, the carbon fibre body is four inches wider and includes a huge front lip spoiler, vented hood, custom bumpers, tailgate spoiler, flared fenders and more.
A prototype NISMO cold air intake and Roots-style, water-cooled supercharger push the Frontier’s standard 3.8-litre V6 to 440 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque (instead of 310 hp and 281 lb-ft). The engine now breathes through a custom NISMO cat-back exhaust system.
The most striking modification is the suspension. To achieve the ground-hugging stance, Nissan developed a custom version of its prototype NISMO high-performance street suspension featuring a fully adjustable coil-over suspension in front and a flip kit and C-notch in the rear. Carbon-barreled, 20-inch NISMO TARMAC wheels are wrapped in 315/35 Yokohama Advan tires, with the front ones getting a negative camber angle for greater straight-line stability.
Keeping that added performance in check is a high-performance big brake kit featuring custom 15-inch floating two-piece rotors and mounts, as well as powerful calipers from the Z NISMO coupe. But get this: there are two calipers in the back, one of which is linked to a custom handbrake for drifting. Seriously.
Throw in some Recaro buckets, and this Frontier is pretty far removed from the units rolling off the line in Canton, Mississippi.
In addition to the TARMAC concept, Nissan will display at SEMA the Frontier Project Trailgater that we showed you a while ago, as well as a pair of modified 2025 Kicks crossovers—one dressed up as a beach patrol SUV and the other taking inspiration from tuner culture.
You can find them all in the photo gallery at the top of the page, so take a look.