Nissan Motorsports and racing legend Chris Forsberg are reviving a beloved era in truck culture, partnering with Nissan Design America (NDA) to transform a Nissan Frontier PRO-X into a low-riding, performance-driven beast.
“Seeing the vehicle mid-build gives a great idea of its potential, but it’s also impressive to see the amount of work and consideration that went into it”Post this
The result: the Nissan Frontier TARMAC Concept1, set to make its world debut at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, Nov. 2-5.
“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. “I haven’t built a lowered truck since 2003. It just seemed fun – it was different.”
Nissan Motorsports team members Kevin Lutz and Paul Boyer started dreaming up the project in 2021 and were eager to make it a reality.
“The floor at SEMA used to be filled with low-slung, high-performance midsize trucks, so it’s easy to imagine a return of that trend,” said Lutz. “Owners of trucks like Frontier frequently love to customize their vehicles, so we’re considering how we can best serve their needs beyond off-road parts.”
TARMAC is a true homage to muscle trucks of the past, while boasting substantial performance upgrades to fit the modern era.
“This bold, in-your-face concept truck was the perfect way to showcase some of our upcoming NISMO performance products for Frontier,” said Boyer, who served as project manager of the TARMAC concept.
Designed for track performance rather than the trail, these trucks have enormous horsepower going to the rear wheels.
Forsberg added a water-cooled supercharger to the 3.8-liter V6, as well as a prototype carbon fiber NISMO cold air intake and performance cat-back exhaust. This boosted the truck’s output to a staggering 440 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. The NISMO brakes were installed using custom mounts and include two-piece floating and slotted rotors for extreme stopping power. There are two calipers in the back – one of which is linked to a custom handbrake for drifting.
The most striking modification is the suspension: To achieve the ground-hugging stance, Nissan Motorsports developed a custom version of its prototype NISMO high-performance street suspension for Frontier featuring a fully adjustable coil-over suspension in front, and a flip kit and C-notch in the rear.
“It’s fair to call this truck ‘slammed,’” Forsberg said. “It’s very low.”
The concept’s appearance reflects its high performance: It features carbon fiber bodywork throughout, including the tailgate spoiler, tonneau cover and ultrawide fenders (making the body 4 inches wider than a stock Frontier PRO-X’s). The carbon fiber contrasts the Afterburn Orange paint – a color that is now available on the 2025 Frontier.
To put TARMAC’s power to the pavement, the team equipped it with custom, carbon fiber 20-inch NISMO wheels with 315/35 Yokohama Advan tires.
Inside, there’s a unique, carbon fiber steering wheel and Recaro seats, which are covered in custom upholstery to complement the vibrant orange exterior. And thanks to the new manual handbrake, the stock foot-pedal parking brake has been removed.
“We wanted the performance-centric feel to continue inside,” Forsberg said.
It took six months to transform the Frontier PRO-X into the TARMAC. Forsberg’s team collaborated with NDA’s San Diego-based designers, who provided feedback on key modifications to the truck’s stance and bodywork.
Hiren Patel, senior manager, Exterior Design at NDA, advised Forsberg as he worked on the custom build.
“Seeing the vehicle mid-build gives a great idea of its potential, but it’s also impressive to see the amount of work and consideration that went into it,” Patel said. “It was so fun to be included.”
Patel, who previously worked on the current-generation Frontier, applied his extensive experience with trucks and SUVs to help reimagine this Frontier as a track-ready concept.
“Trucks are really personal to me. There is so much potential for modification and customization to a very wide palette of tastes and preferences,” he said. “With TARMAC, it’s cool to see Frontier imagined in a non-typical truck way.”
Forsberg has a decades-long history of partnering with Nissan. It started in 2003, when he bought a 350Z and connected with the Nissan motorsports team at races in California. Since then, he has competed in countless events in Nissan vehicles – many of which he customized with his team in-house – from the drift circuit to off-road races.
Most recently, Forsberg collaborated with NISMO Off Road to create the Frontier Forsberg Edition, which is now available for all Frontier pickups (model year 2022 and above).
TARMAC is the latest showcase of Forsberg’s passion for performance and his relationship with Nissan Motorsports. He hopes the concept will remind people of muscle trucks’ fun practicality while introducing them to younger drivers.
“I want to bring back that nostalgia and show that a truck can have performance, too. You can have a fun, fast, track-ready truck and still throw stuff in the bed,” Forsberg said.
The Frontier TARMAC concept joins a thrilling lineup of Nissan and INFINITI vehicles debuting at the 2024 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Explore what else Nissan has in store here.
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1 The Nissan Frontier TARMAC concept is a specially modified vehicle not available for purchase.
