Nissan Built a Supercharged Frontier Drift Truck

Nissan is no stranger to fun one-off builds. Its latest, developed for this year's SEMA show in Las Vegas, is a highly modified Frontier pickup designed to go drifting. The one-off truck comes complete with a custom suspension setup, a supercharged engine, and a set of lovely retro Recaro seats.

Called the Frontier Tarmac, the truck was built in collaboration between Nissan and Forsberg Racing, headed by drift legend Chris Forsberg. First conceived in 2021 by the team at Nissan Motorsports, the pickup is based on a Frontier PRO-X, and took six months to transform.

The Frontier Tarmac retains its 3.8-liter V-6, but Nissan's added a water-cooled supercharger and a prototype Nismo-branded carbon fiber cold air intake and cat-back exhaust. The result is an extra 130 horsepower and 119 pound-feet of torque, for new grand totals of 440 horsepower and 400 pound-feet. 

Nissan doesn't say anything about the transmission, and going by the photos, it looks as if the stock gear selector for the nine-speed automatic is retained. Power gets to the rear wheels only, while Nismo calipers with custom mounts provide stopping power. Out back you'll find two sets of calipers, one for normal braking, and another linked to the giant one-off hydraulic handbrake, for drifting. 

"Twenty years ago, having a performance truck was definitely a cool thing. But today, very rarely do you see lowered, performance truck builds," Forsberg said in a statement. "I haven't built a lowered truck since 2003. It just seemed fun – it was different."

Other interior changes include a carbon fiber-trimmed steering wheel and two front Recaro seats covered in a custom retro upholstery pattern. The suspension is a modified version of Nismo's street suspension offered for the Frontier. It comes with adjustable coilovers up front, a flip kit in the rear to lower the ride height, and a c-notch in the frame to lower it even further.

"It's fair to call this truck 'slammed,'" Forsberg added. "It's very low."

The Frontier Tarmac concept will make its debut at Nissan's SEMA booth in Las Vegas starting tomorrow, November 2. You can catch it alongside a host of other modified vehicles featured by Nissan at the show.