Nissan’s Winter Warrior concepts take the fight to Mother Nature

By Stephen Edelstein February 10, 2016

Nissan recently made its Rogue crossover infinitely cooler by slapping some tracks on one, creating the Rogue Warrior concept. For the 2016 Chicago Auto Show, it decided to up the ante with two more tracked crossovers.

The Nissan Winter Warrior contingent includes a Rogue, Murano, and Pathfinder, all equipped with snow-shredding tracks that make each vehicle part crossover, part snowmobile. None of these vehicles are especially good off road in stock form, but throw some tracks on them and they look like the perfect transportation for a Snowpocalypse.

All three concepts use Dominator Tracks from American Track Truck. Each track is 48 inches long, 30 inches high, and 15 inches wide, and bolts to the hub where a wheel would normally go. Nissan had to modify the vehicles’ wheel wells and suspension to ensure adequate clearance, a process it has some experience with thanks to the Rogue Warrior and a tracked Juke called the RSnow.

Powertrains are completely unchanged. The Rogue uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with 170 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque, while the Murano and Pathfinder use the same 3.5-liter V6, with 260 hp and 240 lb-ft. All three have versions of Nissan’s Xtronic continuously-variable transmission (CVT).

Nissan wasn’t willing to discuss performance, but it previously said the Rogue Warrior was limited to 62 mph because of the track system. Those tracks also allowed it to scale 45-degree inclines, and provided 23 inches of ground clearance for the compact crossover. When navigating a bleak winter hellscape, those attributes are probably more important than speed, anyway.

The three Winter Warrior concepts are also dressed up with matching red body wraps, 9×9-foot hatch tents, and some accessories from Nissan’s own catalog. Items like roof-rail crossbars and all-season floor mats are available at Nissan dealers, but don’t expect to find a set of Dominator Tracks for sale at one anytime soon.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

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