Last Chance to Buy a V8 Nissan Patrol

There’s a particular kind of silence that hits when you realise an era is about to vanish. No more cold starts for the V8 to bark a bit of life into a shopping centre car park.

That is exactly where the Nissan Patrol Y62 sits in 2026. The end of the 5.6-litre V8 is no rumour, it’s locked in. Production stops in Japan in August, and Australian-engineered Patrol Warrior by Premcar will also bow out sooner after. If you’ve ever wanted a new V8 Patrol, this is it. No late-night “oooo-ere, look what we found, a few more in a warehouse” miracle.

And yes, it feels a bit like saying goodbye ol’ mate. He always shows up to the campfire with an esky of coldies, rancid jokes, and a lifetime of blissful memories..

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Like Toyota’s laudable Land Cruiser, this is not just another SUV update. This is the closing chapter of one of Australia’s best known off-road nameplates as another V8 bites the dust.

The Patrol story under Nissan started 1961 in Australia, when the G60 first arrived with the goods. Since then, more than 258,000 Patrols have been sold.

The current Y62 Patrol arrived in 2013, keeping the big, naturally aspirated V8 alive while the rest of the world was busy shrinking, turbocharging, and apologising. But, the age of the ICE vehicle is approaching its sunset. As petrol prices rise, demands for thirsty 8-pots declines even faster.

The end of the V8 chapter

The Y62 Patrol’s 298kW/560Nm 5.6-litre petrol V8 is smooth, lazy, and has that effortlessness that makes towing a van or boat feel like a walk in the park.

But emissions rules and global strategy don’t care about misty-eyed nostalgia. The next Patrol, the Y63, brings a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 paired with a nine-speed automatic. Like the Toyota, the fuel figures will probably be decidedly better, and has been much more reliable. Might this be the turning point for the Patrol – Land Cruiser tussle?

So, the Y62 run-out is not just a product cycle ending, it is the end of a very specific kind of mechanical personality.

Built on Australian dirt, not marketing slides

Australia did not just adopt the Patrol. It tested it in ways that would break most SUVs into many sad, small, jagged parts

One of the defining early stories came in 1962 when geologist Reg Sprigg, along with his family, became the first to cross the Simpson Desert in a “motor vehicle” via what is now the French Line. That crossing went through the heart of Simpson Desert, 1100 sand dunes and took 12 days at an average pace of a smidge above speed.

That passes quickly into folklore and is why the Patrol name carries weight in Australia beyond spec sheets.

Then came motorsport. The Patrol dominated the Australian Off-Road Championship with a record 15 consecutive titles between 1983 and 1998. That is not a lucky streak, it is using a tough continent crusher as intended.

The Y62 era

The Y62 shifted the Patrol into a more rarified space. Fully independent suspension, hydraulic Body Motion Control, a digital rear-view mirror, and a cosiness with limo-like grace.

It was still a massive brute with body-on-frame, and its old-school in philosophy could now also handle a long highway drive with elegance and grace. It became the dual personality SUV, with school run in the morning and desert track on the weekend.

And yes, it still had that V8 soundtrack that you feel deep in your chest..

The Patrol Warrior by Premcar is the last loud one

If the standard Y62 is the familiar pub regular, the Patrol Warrior by Premcar is the one from Mad Max: The Posh Years.

Built in Australia, for Australia, it adds local suspension tuning, more ground clearance, all-terrain tyres, and a more aggressive styling. Its side-exit exhaust are quiet when cruising but get very angry tackle tunnels turblantly.

It is also hand-finished. The human touch in a world increasingly obsessed with automation and screens has a certain romance about it, but let’s don’t come over all soppy.

Maybe it is only fitting that it keeps the V8 alive right to the final curtain. Yes, there is something almost theatrical about it. This final act ma not have glitter, but if you know a gay man who appreciates a dramatic entrance and an even more dramatic exit, the Warrior absolutely has just the right amount of flounce.

The incoming Y63 Heralds the next chapter

The Y63 Patrol will front up in later this year. The new platform has new tech and a mnw engine philosophy. The 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 is expected to bust strong performance and better efficiency, and in reality it will likely be the direction many large SUVs are heading. The rest will be PHEVs with Turbo’d 4-pots with batteries to run campsites. Wow that not a choice most would want to make.

The old scholl will bang on about not be the same character. The naturally aspirated V8 experience is a specific kind of mechanical honesty. What you see is what you get, with no turbo lag and certainly no boost management philosophy. Just engine, gears, and guts.

Whether that matters depends entirely on what you want from a big 4WD. But for enthusiasts, the Y62 ending feels like losing a chapter written in full volume. The real question is with brands like Denza and its powerful PHEV and luxurious cabin parked down the road, is Nissan reading the room?

We are at a crossroads

This is not just about powertrains, it is about a type of vehicle that is fading into history. The big, simple, overbuilt, slightly excessive machines that do not apologise for their existence, but probably should.

Nissan itself is at a fork in the track with falling profits and a shrinking range to consider. It is being swallowed whole by far more sophisticated new-starts which brings extreme technology and new ideas. But, they their elegance has inherent fragility. Only time will tell who survives.

The Patrol has always lived in a space that doesn’t try to be clever. It tries to be unstoppable, and now, with stock winding down, this is very much a “last call” situation. If you want one, especially a Warrior, waiting is a gamble.

In this brave new world where brands are popping up like mushrooms, what replaces them will be new, efficient, advanced, and probably very good.

But it will not be this, for better or for worse.

More Nissan Patrol Stories

• New Y63 Nissan Patrol Has Aussie Grit in Its Gears
• 2025 Nissan Patrol, Plush, Powerful And Packs A Proper Punch
• Nissan Patrol Warrior is Great Off-Road, But in Town?

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