On paper, the V8 Nissan Patrol can tow 3.5 tonnes. It can also probably clamber straight up Mount Kosciuszko if it has a mind to.

The trouble is, the mere thought of doing that is enough to send sharp, shooting pain straight from the vicinity of your hip pocket to the part of your brain responsible for financial responsibility.

On paper, the idea of a heavy-duty petrol 4WD is a bit dumb. Heavy towing and remote touring are the exact reasons diesels exist. Diesels lap up working hard. Petrols just straight lap up when working hard.

Fortunately, we humans have this trait of buying expensive things with our hearts. And you only have to press the start button on a Y62 Patrol for all your head's petty concerns to be sent packing by that V8 bellow.

But these days are about to be over.

The new Nissan Y63 Patrol. Photo: Nissan Australia.

A brand-new Nissan Patrol is just around the corner, with the brand promising more power and better economy - all courtesy of a twin-turbo petrol V6.

Our logical brain is nodding in approval. But our heart? Broken.

Then again, could prices for the outgoing V8 Patrol be about to appreciate to the point where they offset your weekly fuel bill?

Here's everything you need to know about the new model, why Nissan put a petrol V8 in a heavy-duty off-roader in the first place, and why right now might be the only time a V8 Patrol has made financial sense.

(And as luck would have it, we happen to have a stunning example up for auction on CARBIDS right now. Funny how that works.)

The new one: Y63 Patrol

We’ve known the next-generation Y63 Patrol was ditching V8 power since late 2024, but Nissan has now officially opened the order books for Australia and confirmed local pricing.

The range kicks off with the $98,990 Ti. It's a surprisingly modest $2450 bump over the outgoing Y62 base model, but it brings a "substantial upgrade in standard equipment": dual 12.3-inch screens, a 3D parking camera, faux-leather seating, and built-in Google and Gemini AI functionality - alongside proper 4H/4L transfer settings, a rear locking diff, and eight terrain modes.

Moving up the ladder, the Ti+ ($109,480) adds a power sunroof and tailgate, while the Ti-L ($122,690) and Ti-L+ ($134,690) continue piling on the luxury. The range tops out with the flagship Ti-L Reserve at $145,990, complete with adaptive air suspension and massaging front seats.

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Off-road purists can also opt for the PRO-4X ($137,590), which gains all-terrain rubber on 20-inch black alloys, a heavy-duty front bumper, and an integrated electronic trailer brake controller.

As for the all-important V6?

It's drawn from Nissan's VR engine family - so it shares DNA with the monster Z and GT-R sports cars and luxury Infiniti models.

It pumps 317 kW and 700 Nm - or 19 kW and 140 Nm more than the V8 - through a nine-speed automatic, and increases braked towing capacity to 3,700 kg (up from 3,500 kg).

The old one: How the V8 came to be

The V8 is actually fairly new territory for the Patrol.

For decades, it employed a variety of petrol and diesel inline engines - starting with the 4.2-litre diesel in the GQ Patrol (1988–1997).

The GU Patrol (1997–2016) then carried that same torch forward, before introducing the 4.8-litre inline-six petrol engine, a motor that gained particularly popularity in the Middle East for its slightly ludicrous amounts of turbo boost.

1992 Nissan GQ Patrol DX. Photo: Nissan Australia.

So why switch to a giant 5.6-litre petrol V8 in 2010?

Simple: The biggest buyers for the Patrol were in the US and the Middle East, where petrol was cheap, and the local sheiks were after silky-smooth, high-horsepower V8s for climbing sand dunes. 

Nissan also needed to fire a direct shot across the bow of the Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series, and showing up to that party with a thrashy four-cylinder diesel would have been like turning up to a black-tie wedding in gardening gear.

Australian diesel loyalists were initially baffled, but the Y62 quickly earned a fan base of its own.

All six generations of the Nissan Patrol. Photo: Nissan Australia.

A future classic?

What's going to happen to the V8 models now? Surely a controversial move like this is similar to when Toyota binned the V8 for the 300-Series LandCruiser? 

Maybe.

"Only the old-school diehards were buying the the V8 LandCruiser towards the end - all the farmers preferred the 2.8-litre four-cylinder," ALLBIDS Group CEO Ben Hastings says.

"So it's hard to say what will happen with the Patrol. The Y62 does have a real cult following - don't get me wrong - but they're just not as robust as the older Patrols. Great for touring the dunes, but not 'let's go flex it through massive ruts'."

There's more. History tells us twin-turbo V6 Nissans are nothing to poo-hoo.

"The point a lot of critics are missing is Nissan's incredible history with twin-turbo V6s - the Z, the GT-R. It's what they know."

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The car on CARBIDS right now

But it you want a piece of that V8 history before it vanishes into collector vaults (or just vaults), we have a fantastic example live on CARBIDS right now: a 2015 Nissan Patrol Ti, in Brilliant Silver Metallic.

Even as an entry grade, the Ti still came loaded with a full leather interior, woodgrain trim, sunroof, heated front seats, satellite navigation, a 360-degree camera, and seating for eight - even if it's all looking a bit dated.

It shows 326,413 km on the clock, and comes backed by a solid partial logbook service history.

The rubber is fresh (90% tyre tread remaining), and wrapped around aftermarket 18-inch KMC alloy wheels (though the original factory wheels are safely included in the boot). Other not-so-little extras include the heavy-duty towbar, Safari snorkel, and solid metal rock sliders.

You just have to be prepared to embrace the average fuel consumption read-out of 20L/100 km.

The listing is live now as part of our Commercial & 4x4 collection. Bids close Tuesday night, 8 September.