Is Nissan Australia readying a tough as nails army to fight Toyota GR? Warrior name trademarks hint at future hardcore versions of Nissan Z, Qashqai, X-Trail and Pathfinder

Nissan Australia might be considering an army of warriors to take on Toyota GR.

In trademark filings with Intellectual Property Australia earlier this month, the company applied to protect Warrior versions of the Qashqai, X-Trail and Pathfinder SUVs along with the Z sports car under Class 12, for automobiles and parts.

The Warrior name is currently used for collaborations with Australian second-stage manufacturer Premcar and has spawned two generations of off-road ready Navara ute and, most recently, a rough-and-tumble Y62 Patrol with side-exit exhaust.

The latest filings give Warrior scope to feature on every model bar the Juke light SUV and ageing Leaf electric car.

There remains no public information at this time and there may be no more developments on the broader Warrior range in Australia — that’s certainly the official company line.

“Nissan Australia routinely files for trademarks to protect our intellectual property,” a spokesperson told CarsGuide. But, as they say, where there’s smoke … so let's examine some possibilities.

Nissan is the owner of the ‘Warrior’ IP in Australia, not Premcar. The name is exclusively used in Australia and New Zealand, though the Premcar team recently modified a Warrior to win a race in the Middle East.

Premcar and Nissan’s relationship could expand significantly, delivering versions of popular models tailored to Australian conditions and use cases.

For the Pathfinder, X-Trail and Qashqai that have all been tagged ‘Warrior’ we might expect to see more towing capacity, taller ride height, beefier tyres and higher quality suspension components.

Hyundai is looking down a similar path with its Santa Fe XRT — a lifted and accessorised version of a family SUV. The idea being greater capability but still plenty of on-road comfort and efficiency you lose by buying heavier ladder-frame 4WDs.

As for the Z Warrior, we can dream of a 911 Dakar-style all-wheel-drive Z but the chances of that coming to fruition are basically zero. Instead, it would more likely be a performance, road-oriented model with a hint of 911 GT3 to its personality. Like a Nismo Z, but better.

When CarsGuide asked Premcar Partner and Engineering Director Bernie Quinn about the Nissan-Premcar Warrior program’s expansion in June, he said the program “has worked for everyone. The counter to that is, if we get it wrong the whole thing can fall apart.

“We’re doing everything that’s within our control to make it as successful as possible, so that we keep on doing them,” Quinn said without confirming any future plans.

Still, a fully-fledged Warrior line-up of locally-adapted and more capable versions of Nissan’s rivals to the Volkswagen T-Roc, Mitsubishi Outlander, Hyundai Palisade and Toyota Supra is a tantalising prospect.

Were the Z Warrior trademark filed in more countries around the globe it’s possible Nissan could have done what Toyota did with Crown, Ford’s doing with Mustang, or Nissan did with the Skyline name nearly 20 years ago, the Warrior could have denoted more Z variants — SUVs and sedans, for example — but the scope is limited to Australia, which puts this largely to bed.

The less exciting but more realistic path is that Nissan Australia may want to use the Warrior name as a trim level in its line-up, like it does Pro-4X and N-Trek. Remember, the Premcar Warriors are still Patrol Ti Warrior and Navara Pro-4X Warrior, not just Patrol and Navara Warrior.

Nissan already offers semi-hardcore versions of the X-Trail (or Rogue) and Pathfinder in the United States under the Rock Creek variant name. These could, in theory, arrive as ‘Warrior’ models if Nissan Australia chooses so. A similar X-Trail is already sold in Australia as the N-Trek.

For now, we have to fall back to Nissan’s promise that the trademark is to protect intellectual property and that it does not confirm future model plans.