This is how the Nissan Patrol has left its mark on Australia after 64 years and 250,000 sales

Few vehicles have had the impact on Australia that the legendary Nissan Patrol has had over its six-decade run. This week, the Patrol recorded its 250,000th Australian delivery, which is a clear indicator of Australia’s love for travel, towing and adventure.

While the Patrol has left its mark on Australia, this country has left its mark on the Patrol in turn. The model’s enduring popularity has lead to new generations being tuned and tested in the unique conditions Australia has to offer, making it the ideal fit for our market, and even leading to unique Aussie-only versions like the current Patrol Warrior remanufactured by Premcar, the company once behind Ford Performance Vehicles.

However, the Patrol’s biggest test came not long after it first arrived in Australia in 1961, when the G60 completed the first motorised crossing of the Simpson Desert the following year in ’62. The largest parallel sand dune desert in the world, it stretches more than 170,000km² and reaches the Northern Territory, Queensland, and South Australia.

A G60 Patrol driven by the Sprigg family completed the first motorised crossing of the Simpson Desert in 1962

This two-week uncharted journey took the Sprigg family from Andado Station in the Northern Territory to Birdsville in Queensland, carrying both the Sprigg name and of course the G60 Patrol into the record books.

That might have been the Patrol’s first adventure, but it wouldn’t be its last. From off-road racing championships with Legend Les Siviour behind the wheels of his GQ Series Nissan Patrol, to models still rolling up thousands of kilometres across the country, has become part of the fabric of Australia.

The GQ Patrol dominated the Australian Off Road Championship with 15 consecutive wins from 1983-98, with Les Siviour, shown here with the later Y61, behind the wheel for all but one of those wins

“Few models reach legend status, and even fewer are still cementing that legacy today, but that’s exactly what the Patrol has achieved across each of its generations in Australia,” says Andrew Humberstone, vice president and managing director of Nissan Oceania.

“Last year saw Nissan Australia record its best sales on record for the ‘Y62 Patrol, and record the best sales for the Patrol nameplate since 2004. That momentum continues, with the Patrol achieving number one in its segment for the last three months. What makes this milestone particularly meaningful is how Australia has shaped the Patrol.”

While an all-new sixth-generation Patrol, the Y63, is already on sale in the Middle East, we’ll be waiting a while longer for it with an expected Australian arrival date of late 2026 to early 2027. That means the current V8-powered Y62, now 15 years old, is set to soldier on just a little bit longer.