It’s been a long and bumpy road to get to where we are today with our refined and unbreakable 4x4 range. Years of research and development, little tweaks here and there and some top class engineering have taken us from the Jeep-like prototype of the 1950s to the tough and rugged class of 2010. Here, we take you through a retrospective look at the esteemed heritage of our off-road range and discover where the X-Trail, Pathfinder and Navara came from.

The evolution begins

Nissan burst onto the 4x4 landscape with its prototype 4W60 in 1951 in Japan and in doing so gave birth to the legend that is the Patrol. Harnessing expertise gained from building military vehicles, Nissan created a 4x4 similar in style to the American Willys Jeep but able to outperform its rival in terms of capacity and power. The 4W60 had a series of horizontal slots instead of a grille, a split screen windscreen and both the front seats were of equal size.

Just four years later, a new and improved Patrol was on the scene - the 4W61, which came with a new engine. The basic structure was the same as the 4W60 but the availability of chrome, which had been in short supply in 1951, opened up a whole array of new possibilities. First up, the 4W61 was fitted with five horizontal bars as a grille, of which the second and fourth were chrome-plated, the bonnet was much taller, the windscreen was a one piece and the driver’s seat was narrower.

Contemporary feel

Next off the production line was the 4W65 Patrol, unveiled in 1959. Rounded front guards, a new flat-fronted bonnet design and five chrome-plated horizontal bars gave the latest in the Patrol series a less agricultural, more contemporary feel.

The swinging Sixties saw a total revamp of the Patrol model, with a move away from the Jeep style and the emergence of a distinctive look all of its own. Its front guards were built into the body and a new broad and narrow front end design gave the Patrol a tougher image.