Nissan Navara Dark Sky Concept revealed

Nissan has unveiled a new Navara show car, with the Dark Sky Concept equipped to act as a mobile star-spotting station, towing a professional telescope to remote locations far away from light pollution.

The Dark Sky Concept was revealed at the Hannover Motor Show, sharing stand space with the Navara N-Guard, which is already on sale overseas. The astronomy-themed model, however, is a little more unlikely to make it to production, not least of which because the target market for a ute that transforms into a mobile astronomy laboratory is unlikely to be massive.

Still, it looks very cool, though. Designed to promote the huge take-up in customisation of Navaras at the point of purchase (up some 300 per cent over three years in international markets), the Dark Sky Concept was developed with the European Space Agency.

It is fitted with a high-performance telescope housed in a custom-built (and climate-controlled) trailer, with the idea being you can drive it to remote locations far from light pollution for an uninterrupted view of the night sky. And to help with that very mission, it's fitted with off-road tyres, a recovery winch and red lighting designed to be less disruptive to the view of the stars.

Nissan's 'ProPILOT' driving assistance systems have been overhauled, too, with a new trailer alignment function, which takes over steering, acceleration and braking to autonomously line-up your trailer hitch, and an extended blind-spot monitoring system (to compensate for the trailer).

“The tough pickup trucks on display are the perfect embodiment of Nissan’s dedication to excellence in conversions,” says Ashwani Gupta, the senior vice president of Nissan’s LCV arm.

“Powered by Nissan Intelligent Mobility and including ProPILOT, the incredible versatility of each vehicle allows us to go above and beyond to support any business need and serve as an authentic partner for our customers.”

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