Sold outside North America in several markets, the Nissan Navara has been a popular choice for those seeking a capable midsize truck. But Nissan steps it up, taking their pickup to another level with the Navara EnGuard Concept, first unveiled at the 2016 Hannover Motor Show.
Powered by a new portable battery-pack developed by Nissan, the Navara EnGuard is built for rescue situations in almost any terrain. The truck finds two battery packs paired to a 2.3L twin-turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine; four-wheel drive and a seven-speed automatic round things out. Otherwise, the truck is generally stock with updates to the suspension system.
We can’t see how rescue workers and first-responders wouldn’t enjoy taking this rig into the field with tools to make their treacherous job a bit easier: the Navajo EnGuard finds a 360-degree LED lighting setup, a taller roof, a front bumper housing a winch, emergency-blue strobe lights fitted around the truck, and a DJI Phantom 4 drone controlled from a nearly 21-inch screen fitted to the truck’s rear bed, sending images back to the rescue team.
While the Nissan EnGuard is clearly a concept, the takeaway here – aside from the cool drone – is the impact alternative-powered vehicles, including battery and electric, will likely have going into the future. So let’s hope in the event we’re stuck somewhere remote, the Navara EnGuard steps out of concept land and into production.
