News that Nissan->ke62 would have a gasoline V-8 powering the Titan XD came with the truck’s initial debut. What exactly that V-8 would be and how much power it would produce remained a mystery – until now. The automaker has pulled the covers off its newest powerplant slotted for both the Titan XD and the upcoming Titan->ke482 pickup.

The new 5.6-liter V-8 may share its displacement and cylinder count with the outgoing Endurance V-8, but Nissan says that’s where the similarities stop. The new engine is a completely new design, fitted with the latest in truck->ke4845 engine tech that’s designed for both power and efficiency.

The engine comes with direct fuel injection and Nissan’s VVEL, or Variable Valve Event & Lift technology. That’s a fancy name for variable valve timing, but the system hydraulically controls the valve timing and electronically controlled variable valve lift on both the intake and exhaust sides. This leads to better performance in both low- and high-throttle driving situations. A high compression ratio of 11.2:1 helps efficiency as well.

All told, the new 5.6-liter V-8 produces 390 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 401 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. That’s up from 317 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque over the outgoing V-8. The engine will come mated with a new, seven-speed automatic transmission.

Nissan hasn’t released the V-8’s towing, payload, or fuel economy numbers, but I’d suspect the gasoline-powered Titan XD to be slightly down on these stats compared to the diesel-powered->ke1917 Titan XD. We’ll bring you more as Nissan releases the info.

Gasoline-power Titan XDs will hit showrooms in early spring of 2016.

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Why it matters

Nissan expressly claims customers in the niche market for the Titan XD are looking for choices between a gasoline and diesel engine. For some, it comes down to cost, while other simply have a preference for one powertrain type over another.

This new V-8 will be a strong competitor in the new Titan pickup, the non-heavy duty version of Nissan’s full-size pickup. Those horsepower and torque ratings put the 5.6-liter Endurance V-8 up against Toyota’s 5.7-liter iForce V-8, which puts out 381 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque, along with Ram’s 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, which makes 395 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque. By comparison, Chevy’s 5.3-liter V-8 produces 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque, while the 6.2-liter V-8 produces 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. Opting for the 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 in a Ram 2500 gets you 410 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque.

Horsepower and torque numbers aside, it will be interesting to see how well this new gasoline V-8 does in comparison to the 5.0-liter Cummins Turbodiesel also offered in the Titan XD. My money is most private-party sales will lean towards the Cummins while fleet sales will skew towards the V-8 gasser.

Nissan Titan

Read our full review on the Nissan Titan here.