Alastair's BLE 2 Blog: Nissan Juke-R

2011年10月15日土曜日

Nissan Juke-R

There’s something about the Nissan Juke that just stirs up animated discussions. Whether its the funkier-than-usual design or its rather impressive performance capabilities, a lot of us in the industry have strong opinions about Nissan’s quirky crossover.

If you’re Nissan, all these discussions can only be good press for the Juke and if you want to stoke the proverbial flames, why not up the ante by building a one-off creation that places the powertrain of Nissan’s Godzilla sports car - the GT-R - inside the Juke.

You read that right, folks. A GT-R-powered Juke. Let the discussion begin.

The car is going to be called the Juke-R, which took its name from the GT-R-sourced twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 powertrain it’s set to have. The Juke-R is expected to produce the same 520-horsepower output as that of the GT-R. Based on the sketches Nissan has released of the one-off car, it appears that the Juke-R will also feature some aerodynamic modifications, including sport flared fenders, a new front splitter, a new rear diffuser, and a new set of wheels, tires, and brakes.

Paul Willcox, Nissan Europe’s Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing said that the Nissan Juke lends itself perfectly to a sports derivative and Juke-R explores that territory. "The Juke-R showcases two of the most exciting cars in our range and highlights the technical innovation that drives Nissan," he said.

"This car will more than live up to the dynamic driving experience we engineer into all our cars."

There doesn’t appear to be a timeline as to when the Juke-R will break cover, but considering it’s nature, we’re crossing our fingers that it makes an appearance at SEMA this coming November 2011.

UPDATE 10/14/2011: Want to know how they cram GTR technology into a Juke base? Nissan has released the second video - called Technology Transfer - of a series dedicated to the Juke-R’s build. Check it out!