While we still really like the current Nissan Frontier, it’s beginning to show its age when compared to all-new competition from Chevrolet and Toyota. Last redesigned for the 2005 model year, the Frontier’s gutsy 4.0L V-6 and nimble size have made it friends in the Truck Trend Network office, but its dated interior design and old-school highway manners are showing their age.

However, with the release of a new Nissan Navara pickup for overseas markets, the Internet has been abuzz with rumors that it might form the basis of our next Frontier.Our friends at Top Speed picked up the hearsay and ran it into the endzone with these rendered images of what America’s next Frontier (likely due in 2017 as a 2018 model) might look like.

We must admit, the Navara looks much less trucky and more crossover-ish than the current Frontier. We like the current model’s blocky, assertive design, so we hope the next Frontier looks more like Top Speed’s rendering than the Euro-market Navara. The rendering shows bolder fender flares and a more rugged lower front fascia, helping offset the Navara’s sloping hood and drooping headlights.

It’s still unmistakably a Nissan pickup, with a three-section chrome grille and Titan XD¬–like fender sculpting. We just hope Nissan preserves the current Frontier’s low-end torque, rather than swapping out the large-displacement V-6 for a more efficient (but car-derived) engine.