Nissan proves you can dial the Kicks SUV up to 11, and it will look cool

Just two days ago, Nissan and MA Motorsports debuted the Frontier Desert Runner, an extreme pickup truck born to conquer the sands of Sahara. Now, the duo has pulled a bootlegger reverse and revealed a beefed-up… 2019 Kicks Street Sport.

Some of you are probably thinking, ‘Eh, what’s there to customize in a soft-roader with 1.6 liters of displacement?’ Apparently, a whole lot.

First, the CUV now wears a part-carbon body kit made by 360 Composites. Included are a giant front spoiler, side skirts, an aggressive-looking rear diffuser, and a two-piece rear wing. The broadened fenders now hold 17-inch, ultra-light Volk Racing TE37V wheels clad in Falken Azenis RT615K 245 tires.

Second, the suspension has been upgraded with high-end Nismo and Öhlins components, and the engine now packs a high-end Garrett turbine charger along with countless other mods. The exact performance numbers are not available, but we’d imagine it to have risen from the stock 125 hp (93 kW) to around 275 hp (205 kW).

Wrapping up the 2019 Kicks Street Sport project is a lightly customized cabin, now with carbon-fiber Sparco SPX seats.