Nissan thinks the GT-R is too serious and so plonked a GT-R engine in a Juke to give us the Juke-R!
The Juke-R will be developed for Nissan by RML with input from Nissan Technical Centre for Europe (NTC-E). The car is currently in development and expected to complete first tests in November. Nissan says the Juke-R is meant to underline the compact crossover’s fun factor. Nissan’s Facebook page for the Juke-R has already crossed 20,000 fans and the number seems to be growing. We guess there is something enticing about doing irrational and just-for-fun kind of engineering feats like this!
Design changes include flared wheel arches, revised front and rear bumpers plus a unique split rear wing. The Juke-R is not for production and is a one-off, road legal concept car, developed by Nissan and built by leading motorsports outfit RML with input from Nissan Technology Centre for Europe (NTC-E).
Under the bonnet is a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine adopted directly from Nissan’s flagship supercar. Under the boot floor hides the GT-R’s six-speed transaxle, with the front and rear ends joined by a modified GT-R 4WD drive line and prop shaft, while chunky 20-inch RAYS forged alloy rims fill each wheel arch.
The dashboard had to be redesigned to accommodate the gauges, dials and 7-inch customisable LCD display from the GT-R. The Juke’s iconic centre console, inspired by the fuel tank of a motorcycle, remains while the rest of the interior has the look of a machine bred for the track. Twin race-seats with five-point harnesses sit inside a visible roll cage that gives FIA safety standards as well as enhanced rigidity to provide the ultimate performance.
Ray Mallock Limited (RML) was founded by race driver and motorsport engineer Ray Mallock. The company started by building and running sports prototypes in the World Sportscar Championship.