First Sighting Of 2021 Nissan Frontier Reveals More Aggressive Design

Nissan is readying its Ford Ranger competitor.

Yesterday, Nissan released a video teasing its future product lineup. Although little more than the dark silhouette and LED lighting of each model was shown, it was just enough for us to spot a new Z car, likely to be called the 400Z. Another Nissan in dire need of replacement is the Frontier truck, and the good news is, the video gave us our first glimpse at this fully redesigned 2021 model, too.

The stylistic changes are going to be major, and based on this first look via screenshots from Nissan's video, we're even more excited to see the completely revealed new Frontier, which is known in other markets as the Navara or NP300.

As a whole, the screenshots here reveal a much boxier and more angular design than the current Frontier. The headlights look totally different, too, with split LED DRLs that resemble those on the new Genesis GV80 SUV, and not too dissimilar to the Nissan Titan's lights. Speaking of the Titan, eagle-eyed watchers would have noticed that the video doesn't contain one truck, but two that appear fairly similar in size.

It could be that the other truck is a Navara or the updated Nissan Titan, which plays in the full-size segment, but we'd need to see more of both to confirm this. At the conclusion of the video, various models are named in quick succession, including 'Frontier' and 'Navara' - the latter has a much more striking design than the current Frontier.

Other clues are the letters 'F' and 'N' that flash by behind each truck, leading us to believe that the first shot above is definitely the new Frontier. Nissan was less secretive about its new Z car, with a close-up of the Z badge towards the end.

Either way, the new Frontier looks like it should be a dramatic departure from the dated current model, which has been around for over a decade. While details of the truck's appearance remain under wraps, we do know that beneath its new skin, the 2021 Frontier should use the new 3.8-liter V6 engine that's been announced for the 2020 facelift. A raft of other updates is expected, including the Nissan Safety Shield 360 suite of driver aids. The changes should bring the 2021 Frontier in line with tough competition that includes the Ford Ranger and Chevrolet Colorado.