Automotive

Nissan prepares assault on Montreal with lifted Altima AWD on tracks

Nissan prepares assault on Montreal with lifted Altima AWD on tracks
The Nissan Altima-te AWD looks mean from underneath
The Nissan Altima-te AWD looks mean from underneath
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A bespoke foam/nautical resin body kid adds wide fenders to allow the tracks to fit
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A bespoke foam/nautical resin body kid adds wide fenders to allow the tracks to fit
Nissan Altima-te AWD – "the ultimate expression of AWD"
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Nissan Altima-te AWD – "the ultimate expression of AWD"
Just a one-off project car for the moment, the Altima-te AWD puts tracks on all four corners of an Altima sedan
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Just a one-off project car for the moment, the Altima-te AWD puts tracks on all four corners of an Altima sedan
Nissan Altima-te AWD: 30-mm-wide tracks
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Nissan Altima-te AWD: 30-mm-wide tracks
Nissan Altima-te AWD: body height is raised 3 inches
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Nissan Altima-te AWD: body height is raised 3 inches
Nissan Altima-te AWD: wicked flared look to the wheel arches
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Nissan Altima-te AWD: wicked flared look to the wheel arches
The Nissan Altima-te AWD looks mean from underneath
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The Nissan Altima-te AWD looks mean from underneath
Nissan Altima-te AWD: rides very high compared to its wheel-bearing donor car
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Nissan Altima-te AWD: rides very high compared to its wheel-bearing donor car
Nissan Altima-te AWD: still looks kinda dorky from the side
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Nissan Altima-te AWD: still looks kinda dorky from the side
View gallery - 9 images

Nissan is hitting the Montreal Auto Show with a wild, snow-hungry, tracked sedan project that it's calling "the ultimate expression of all wheel drive." The Altima-te AWD is an interesting mix of mild and wild, and its massively flared arches actually make it look super tough.

We've seen plenty of tracked car conversions for snow driving from Nissan before, but the concept looks a lot less outrageous when you start out with a Rogue or Pathfinder 4WD. Start out with a sedan – in this case the Altima, which comes standard with AWD in the Canadian market – and the visuals are a lot more interesting.

Nissan Altima-te AWD: rides very high compared to its wheel-bearing donor car
Nissan Altima-te AWD: rides very high compared to its wheel-bearing donor car

The Altima-te AWD uses American Track Truck's Dominator track system, with a 380-mm-wide (15-in), 750-mm-tall (30-in) track at each corner. Getting the tracks to fit a sedan took a fair bit more work than usual, but the resulting 180-mm (7-in) flares on the wheel arches look deadly cool from the right angle, and the extra width at the bottom level gives this thing a wide and aggressive stance. Well, from low down, at least, it has a bit of a dorky look from the side but we'll give it a pass.

Nissan Altima-te AWD: body height is raised 3 inches
Nissan Altima-te AWD: body height is raised 3 inches

The resulting snow tosser sits some 80 mm (3 in) higher than the stock car, with the load bearing chassis dropped by 30 mm (1.2 in), the suspension components raised by 50 mm (2 in), and the geometry corrected to "restore the proper kinematics."

It's a one-off project vehicle for Nissan, and after Montreal it can be expected to do the rounds of North American auto shows.

Check out a cheesy video below.

Source: Nissan

Introducing Nissan Altima-te AWD

View gallery - 9 images
5 comments
5 comments
guzmanchinky
Tracks on normal vehicles are very cool. Very practical in those conditions. It's surprising it has the power to move those tracks! Maybe it's geared way down somehow with some kind of diff locking system. Neat concept.
McDesign
Nice slow reveal on the video!
paul c
CVT transmission fail in 3...2......1..
kid-jensen
The ultimate "why re-invent the wheel" question?
What vehicle was used to do all the filming? It seemed to be doing just fine in the same snow.....
McDesign
The vehicle doing the filming is known as "Tenzing Norgay"