Nissan shows off Frontier Hardbody concept at the Chicago Auto Show
The company is bringing two other nostalgia-filled pickup truck concepts to the party, too.
Listen up, truck nerds! Nissan is showing a Hardbody truck concept at the Chicago Auto Show this week, and it's bringing all the nostalgia feels. If the '80s off-road racing legacy of the Hardbody doesn't do it for you, the company is also bringing two other concepts to the show. All three rigs are based on the 2022 Frontier, Nissan's new and much-improved midsize pickup.
Project Hardbody takes a Crew Cab SV trim and turns it into a desert runner with a 3-inch lift and adjustable upper control arms. It borrows a few bits from the PRO-4X like the skid plate and fenders and also adds some gloss black trim on the door handles and mirror caps. A gloss black rear bumper, front fascia and exhaust finisher are here as well. Nissan also added black step rails but removed the bolt-on steps. You get nifty rock rails but can add the steps back on for your daily driving. With a 3-inch lift, you might want those steps for easier getting in and out when you aren't off road.
Sweet shortbed success.
However, it's the nostalgic bits that slay me, especially the 17-inch block wheels. Hot damn do these look good -- they look just like slightly enlarged versions of the original wheels that were on the Frontier and the first Pathfinder back in the day. The fact that they are wrapped in 33-inch BF Goodrich KO2 All-Terrain rubber is just the icing. The sport bar in the bed is another retro touch, made a bit more modern with 10-inch Rigid LED lights. The 4x4 graphic on the side is likewise an Eighties dream come true.
The only feature I don't care for is the bed-mounted spare tire carrier. It lays the tire almost flat and takes up a lot of bed space. Other carriers can hold the tire upright, freeing up more space for extra gas or a cooler. I'd also like to see the red, white and blue paint scheme like the 1988 Hardbody Desert Runner production truck, akin to what Rebelle Rally competitors Sedona Blinson and Lyn Woodward designed for their rally Frontier. The red is good, but come on -- it's a concept. Let's have a little fun.
Every vehicle is better with steel wheels and Project 72X is no exception.
If you remember the little Datsun 720 pickup that predates the Hardbody, you might just dig the Project 72X concept. Meant to be the most affordable of the trio, this concept takes the base S trim 4x4 and adds a 2.5-inch lift with adjustable upper control arms.
There isn't as much gloss-black trim here, just an exhaust finish, but again, Nissan gets so much of the nostalgia right. I'm talking about 17-inch steel wheels, y'all. Yep, the folks at Nissan Design America took the steelie that is found in the 2022 Frontier's spare tire and threw four of them on this concept and the result is fire. Wrapped around those wheels are a set of Dynapro AT2 all-terrain tires, sized 265/70R17.
Like the Hardbody, the 72X concept gets the sport bar, albeit without lighting, and some retro Eighties graphics along the body.
Project Adventure should appeal to overlanders.
And you can't have a trio of truck concepts these days without one of them being an overland build. Project Adventure builds on today's PRO-4X trim but adds a whopping 5-inch lift with adjustable upper control arms, a snorkel and a Yakima bed rack with a rooftop tent, Rotopax containers and recovery boards. A Yakima roof basket can carry more stuff, and I spy a hi-lift jack and DMOS shovel up there as well. Sturdy off-road step rails assist with entry and exit while a 50-inch LED lightbar from Rigid cuts through the night.
The stock PRO-4X wheels on Project Adventure aren't as cool as the other two concepts, but they are wrapped in 34-inch BF Goodrich KM3 Mud Terrain tires. I dig the wrap on the concept, featuring an atlas map of the United States. However, it looks to be a map of the interstate highway system, which is, of course, paved. I recommend downloading onX's Offroad app or Gaia maps and finding your own dirt byway.
The Chicago Auto Show runs Feb. 12-21 and tickets are available now.
