b'Dec 2021 Trackwatch.qxp_Trackwatch Layout 128/11/20215:31 pmPage 22for off-roading and comfortable on- Simpson Desert historic re-enactment crossingroad dynamics for everyday driving.It was initially offered with a choice ofall-new 4.2-litre petrol or diesel six-cylinder engines with either a five-speed manual or four-speedautomatic. The powertrain range wasexpanded in 1990 with the addition ofa 3.0-litre petrol sixa unique versionof the iconic RB30 from the Skylinesedanin entry-level models andagain in 1995 with a 2.8-litre turbodiesel.The fifth-generation GU Patrollaunched in 1997 brought a sleeker,more spacious body as well assignificant improvements to chassis, One of the Nissan Patrols earliest suspension and driveline components and most significantachievementsthat increased overall refinement. It happened in September 1962 whenwas powered by either an improved renowned geologist Reg Sprigg,version of the 2.8-litre turbo-diesel six, along with his wife Griselda andwhich now featured electronic fuel children Marg and Doug who wereinjection and an intercooler, or a aged just 10 and 7 at the time,revised 4.2-litre naturally-aspirated became the first to cross the Simpsonsix. A turbo charged variant of the big Desert in a motor vehicle.six arrived in 1999, an all-new ZD30 The family took over 12 days to drive3.0-litre turbo four-cylinder replaced a G60 Patrol from Andado Station inthe smaller six in 2000 and the petrol the Northern Territory to Birdsville insix-cylinder increased its capacity to Queensland, charting the route that4.8-litres in 2001, producing 185kW would eventually be known as theand 420Nm - making the Patrol the French Linethe most popular East-most powerful four-wheel drive in its West track across the spectacularclass. 176,500 square kilometre region thatcontains the worlds longest parallelsand dunes.The Sprigg family recorded an of his outback explorations andaverage speed of just 5km/h and established his Arkaroola Station inoften risked their lives when the the Flinders Ranges as a wildernessvehicle, which carried a 200L drum of conservation area which is still inpetrol in the back, became beached place today and managed by Margon giant outcrops of saltbush and the and Doug.hot exhaust ignited the dry desert In 2012, Nissan Australia created ascrub. re-enactment of the Spriggs SimpsonReg Sprigg went on to create Desert Crossing with Marg and DougWith the arrival of the high-tech Y62 Australian energy company Santos driving a similar G60 Patrol fromseries in 2014, the Patrol shifted up a and then Beach Petroleum as a result Dalhousie Springs to Birdsville. Thisgear and took on a more refined time, it took them just five days.character. It was exclusively availableas a wagon with a 5.6-litre petrol Doug and Marg Sprigg arrive inV8 and focused more intently on its Birdsville in 2012 in their originalon-road performance than ever G60 Patrolbefore, bringing world-first technolo-gies such as the digital IntelligentRear View Mirror (introduced in 2017)and a sophisticated fully-independentsuspension set-up with HydraulicBody Motion Control.20 DECEMBER2021 TRACKWATCH'