By Steve & Tamami Laser
How does Nissan drive home the point that every new 2019 Altima sold in Canada is fitted with standard all-wheel drive? By trotting out the new Altima-te AWD project vehicle at the Montreal Auto Show.
While it’s not unusual to see concepts like Nissan’s Rogue Warrior and other crossovers or SUVs fitted with heavy-duty track systems, it is amazing to see this type of system fitted to a sedan.
Nissan Canada says that the Altima-te AWD was converted by Quebec-based Motorsports in Action (MIA) using the Dominator® track system from American Track Truck.
Fitting the tracks to the 2019 Altima AWD required some creative body mods. Each fender has been expanded by 7 inches (180 mm) making the body of the concept 14 inches (380 mm) wider than the production car.
MIA fabricated fenders using high-density foam and epoxy resin, more often applied to nautical structures. The labor-intensive process reportedly consumed 150 hours of the total 250-hour project build.
The Altima’s ride height was increased by 3 inches (80 mm) to accommodate the track system. Nissan says the front and rear load-bearing chassis was dropped by 1.18 inches (30 mm) while suspension components were raised by 1.96 inches (50 mm).
Following its display at the Montreal Auto Show, Nissan plans to bring the Altima-te AWD project vehicle to the Toronto Auto Show next month.
News source and photos courtesy of Nissan Canada
Note: The Nissan Altima-te AWD is a project vehicle
Story (commentary) © 2019 CarNichiWa.com