Journalists at a Nissan press event in Spain this week got a nice surprise: a first glimpse at the now-complete Nissan Juke-R sport crossover.
This is the first of two Juke-R models built by Nissan’s European Technology Center and the RML racing team. The project entailed stripping the funky Juke crossover of its turbocharged I-4 and massaging the bodywork and platform to accommodate Godzilla’s powertrain. As a result, the car now sports the GT-R’s 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6, and boasts all-wheel-drive, 480 hp, and a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. Impressive, but most incredible is the fact the finished cars will be street legal.
On the inside, Nissan managed to squeeze in the GT-R’s gauge cluster, as well as its seven-inch LCD display with graphics by video game house Polyphony. The car also gets a complex roll cage, designed to brace the Juke body to cope with the extra power.
The hopped-up crossover was given a surprise unveiling at a press event in Malaga, Spain, which was primarily focused on Nissan’s less-insane crossover models. Nissan says the Juke-R will begin testing next month, but after that, the plan is a little less certain. Interestingly, Nissan says it’s toyed with putting a form of a super Juke into limited production, and that the Juke-R will gauge public reaction to such a vehicle.
Seeing as the Juke-R has roughly 25,000 fans on Facebook, many of whom have left comments like “Love that JUKE!” and “This is exactly what all car companies should be about,” we predict the reaction will be favorable.
Thanks to: Motor Trend