The 2026 Nissan Armada Nismo Would Be Better If It Was Worse

I have some ideas

Save for reliability concerns, a much more juiced-up version of the Armada’s twin-turbo V6 would be nice. Nissan made the mistake of sitting a Nismo next to a 1,000-hp Infiniti QX80 (this car’s sibling) during the recent SEMA show, complete with a GT-R motor, carbon-ceramic brakes and huge quad exhausts. Yes, something like that would be so expensive it would be rendered irrelevant, and yes, this isn’t really possible given Nissan’s current financial situation. But it sure makes my mind wander: What if Nissan actually, you know, went all out?

If not for going totally insane, smaller changes like heavier steering, stickier tires, bigger brakes, sport seats and a stiffer ride would do the trick. Yes, they’d make this Armada worse in typical three-row SUV scenarios, but they’d also make it so much more interesting to drive. That’s what a Nismo should be.

Photos by Nick Yekikian