Nissan's Three 2023 SEMA Concepts Are Either Rugged or Racy

• Nissan is bringing three of its cars to SEMA this year.
• A Baja-style Frontier and a Rogue bring off-road goodies.
• A racetrack-ready Sentra features Nismo seats and a manual gearbox.

The Specialty Equipment Marketing Association show, or SEMA as it's come to be known, has always been a place where manufacturers and talented tuners have been able to share a little creativity. No longer bound by the standards of producing a car for the masses, manufacturers have been leaning into SEMA more and more over the years. This year Nissan is bringing a Frontier, Rogue and Sentra to next week's show, all of which feature some pretty hefty modifications.

Forsberg Frontier Off-Road Race Truck

The Frontier Nissan is bringing to the show was made in collaboration with Forsberg Racing and Formula Drift champ Chris Forsberg. The team outfitted a Frontier with a number of Nismo parts to prep it for the NORRA 500, an off-road rally that takes place in Ensenada, Mexico. The result is, to our eyes, one mean-looking Frontier.

Here is the list of all the mods done to the Frontier to take it from standard midsize pickup to rally-ready off-roader:

• Nismo Off Road Frontier lift kit and Nismo Frontier high-performance suspension kit
• Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003 tires
• Black Nismo Axis beadlock wheels
• Cat-back exhaust by Nismo
• Nismo Off Road roof rack
• 40-inch LED bar
• Two roof rack flood lights
• Nismo Off Road rock sliders

Much more rugged Rogue

The second of the three concepts is a much more rugged take on the recently refreshed Rogue SUV. It features a number of go-anywhere additions that look to take what's normally a pure mall-crawler and give drivers the ability to hit the trails (or anywhere else that isn't a perfectly paved Walmart parking lot). The mods to this Roque include a number of prototype Nismo parts, too. There's a 3-inch lift, 18-inch-by-8.5-inch prototype off-road Nismo wheels wrapped in Yokohama Geolandar M/T G003 tires, a dual center-exit exhaust system, carbon-fiber fender flares, a carbon-fiber rear spoiler, a prototype bumper guard and off-road roof rack by Nismo, rock rails, and 4-inch off-road driving lights. All in all, these changes really beef up the Rogue and turn it into something you might take off the beaten path after all.

Speedy little Sentra

The last car in Nissan's lineip for SEMA this year is a sportier take on the Sentra sedan. It features a manual gearbox and some bucket seats fans of the Nissan Z Nismo will be very familliar with. There's also 18-inch wheels wrapped in sticky Yokohama Advan Neova AD09 tires, special Nismo-specific coilovers and sway bars, brakes from the much Nissan Z sports car, and a cat-back exhaust from Nismo. But that's not the juiciest bit. Oh no, the biggest changes have been done under the hood. The little 2.0-liter four-cylinder gets a laundry list of changes that includes a new Garrett turbocharger. Here are the biggest changes made to the engine:

• Compression ratio of 10:5:1 (11:5:1 was stock)
• Eagle rods
• Manley pistons
• WPC treated internals
• Garrett intercooler
• Garrett G25 660 turbocharger
• Jim Wolf Technology manifold spacer plate with injector ports
• 347-cc-per-minute Bosch EV14 secondary injectors
• DeatschWerks in-tank fuel pump
• Motec fuel pressure transducer
• AFCO radiator
• Quaife ATB limited-slip differential
• McLeod lightweight flywheel and sport clutch kit 
• Motec M122 ECM

Nissan doesn't say how much power the almost fully built engine makes, but we're certain it's plenty more than the stock car's 149 hp.

Edmunds says

Not saying the Sentra needs all that power, but it definitely needs all that power. Please make a new Sentra Nismo, Nissan.