Diesel-powered Nissan Titan in development

Nissan is reportedly working on a diesel variant of the Titan truck with engines sourced from Navistar, reports Japanese industrial paper Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. No engines in particular were named, but one possibility is the light-duty diesel that Navistar has been developing for the Ford F-150. Currently, the Titan is offered only with a 5.6-liter V-8 that puts out 317 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque.

To date, the only diesel vehicle Nissan has confirmed for the U.S. market is a variant of the Maxima that'll arrive in 2010 with an engine sourced from partner Renault. Pickuptruck.com reports that a Nissan spokesperson refutes the report as speculation, but does that the company is "studying the technology for potential future use."

It's worth noting that Navistar and long-time partner Ford have been embroiled in a legal battle over warranty claims and quality concerns with some of its engines, notably the 6.0-liter engine sold in the previous-generation Ford SuperDuty as well as the new 6.4-liter mill in the brand-new 2008 model. The latest salvo was a lawsuit filed by Navistar against Ford earlier this month over the Blue Oval's work on a light-duty diesel independent of Navistar.