- Our sources suggest that Nissan will show a study of a modern Xterra SUV in 2025.
- A cryptic “Project X” teaser was uploaded on social media hinting at a “super secret build”.
- The reborn Xterra could share its ladder-frame underpinnings with the Nissan Frontier.
Despite navigating some rocky financial terrain this year, Nissan isn’t letting its challenges extinguish its creative spark. Today, we’ve learned that Nissan has teamed up with a content creator to work on what’s being touted as a modern reimagining of the Xterra. The project will debut at next year’s SEMA show, with the early announcement seemingly designed to drum up excitement by documenting its progress over the next 11 months.
Our sources, who prefer to remain anonymous, described the project as a “design study exploring what a modern Xterra could look like, incorporating contemporary styling elements and an updated powertrain.”
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The so-called “Project X” has already been teased on Instagram by Nick Raymond Scherr, a video creator, die-hard Nissan enthusiast, and self-proclaimed Nismo Ambassador. In a post that can only be described as dripping with hype, Scherr had this to say about the endeavor:
“#ProjectX is coming. What is Project X you ask? It is a super secret build that will blow everyone away! Over the next 11 months, I am embarking on one of the wildest things ever dreamt up…yet, will leave everybody wanting one. I have teamed up with some special people to make Project X happen but welcome any sponsors who want to be part of it. I can’t wait to start dropping more clues. See you soon…off road!”
This “super secret build” seems far removed from a production-ready model, but it hints that Nissan hasn’t completely abandoned the idea of a new truck-based SUV to rival the Toyota 4Runner. We’re just speculating now as details remain scarce, but the rugged SUV could borrow its ladder-frame underpinnings from the Nissan Frontier pickup, staying true to the Xterra’s heritage while setting itself apart from the unibody Pathfinder.
Nissan offered two generations of the Xterra in the U.S. between 1999 and 2015, when the off-roader was discontinued without a direct successor. In 2018, the company launched the Terra SUV in select international markets, later rebranded as the X-Terra in the Middle East, though it was never intended for North America.
Earlier this year, Ponz Pandikuthira, Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer for Nissan Americas, revealed that a new generation of the Nissan Xterra was “very actively considered” Described as an “authentic and serious truck” with a relatively affordable price point, the idea seems aligned with Nissan’s heritage. Hopefully, “Project X” will edge us closer to seeing this vision become a reality.