About 18 months before the Y62 Nissan Patrol launched, Nissan’s then media manager made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. He knew I was headed to the US to cover the mega SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas, and wanted me to get behind the wheel of the Nissan Titan pickup. “I want you to get a sense of what the engine’s about,” he said.

That 5.6-litre V8 was soon to become not just the motivation for the Patrol that would go on sale locally, but also the basis of Nissan’s short-lived entry into the V8 Supercar championship. And what an engine it was. The Titan I drove from LA to Las Vegas and back was fitted with a factory performance intake and sports exhaust, and sounded like a banshee howling at redline, matched only by the evocative burble at low rpm. It was, as the best V8 engines have always been, brilliant.

Fast forward to 2026, and it’s fast approaching the time where we say goodbye to that iconic V8. Think of where V8s have become popular, what they have powered, their flexibility and longevity, and its hard to argue there’s a more significant internal-combustion engine in automotive history. And the Patrol’s 5.6-litre is one of the best.

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Not long after that experience with the Titan in the US, I was lucky enough to test (off-road) a LHD version of the Patrol brought out to Australia for final evaluation. Finally, Nissan fans had a flagship 4WD that could compete on a level playing field with Toyota’s all-conquering LandCruiser. And compete it did, remaining popular even as it nears its end having been taken to every dusty corner of the Australian continent, just as the best 4WDs should be.

Shortly after Nissan closes the doors on its production, so too will Premcar, the Aussie business that tweaks the Patrol to produce its own Patrol Warrior version. Toughened up and modified in the way the off-road community would do, its a track-ready touring 4WD with full factory warranty.

For Nissan, and fans of the brand, the question turns to what next? Much was made of Toyota’s move from V8 power to V6 power for its iconic LandCruiser. By much, I mean a hell of a lot of negativity. Speak to a Toyota fan and they’ll tell you the greatest engine ever assembled (of all time, anywhere on earth) is a variation of the final inline six diesel that powered LandCruiser in this country. Those same fans who lamented the introduction of the V8, however, then bemoaned the end of the V8 – especially for the 70-Series, which was to get – shock, horror – a four-cylinder.

How much difference do you reckon that’s made to Toyota’s sales? Almost none. The 300-Series remains popular despite the eye-watering price, and the 70-Series continues to quite literally chug away in every corner of the continent regardless of what’s under the bonnet. In other words, if you’re a Toyota fan and you want either a flagship off-roader, or rugged 4WD, you’re buying one, regardless of the engine.

Nissan will be hoping the same thing happens with the next Patrol, which will be powered by a 3.5-litre, twin-turbo V6 petrol engine paired to a nine-speed automatic. With 317kW and 700Nm, there’s little doubt the new fire-breather, derived from the GT-R, has enough mumbo to do what Patrol buyers will want.

Is it more efficient than the naturally-aspirated V8 in the real world? Probably not, but it doesn’t matter as perception is all the rage in these environmentally conscious times, and a V6 ‘seems’ better than a V8.

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The way I look at it, thanks to its popularity you can still buy a V8 Patrol if that’s what you really want. They will always be available on the second-hand market. But the inevitable had to happen, whether we like it or not, and the marching of time means the V8 was always headed for the exit door in this instance.

Nissan’s Patrol has, since the launch of the Y62, always seemed like remarkably good value. Even as prices rose, the level of standard equipment and the comfort you got for the price tag ensured it always felt like genuine value for money. Here’s hoping the Y63, powered by a different engine as it may be, maintains the status quo.