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Nissan Juke-R

We drive a Nissan Juke with a difference, featuring the 485bhp V6 engine from the Nissan GT-R

Nissan Juke R front cornering

Text: Paul Bailey / Photos: Max Earey

January 2012

It’s the ultimate crossover – the body of an incredibly popular small SUV with the mechanicals of one of the world’s fastest and most technically advanced supercars.

The chances are you’ve probably seen the Juke-R before. At least that’s what the marketing people at Nissan are hoping, for this cartoonish creation’s whole reason for being is to generate publicity. And lots of it.

Video: watch the Juke-R taking part in a supercar street race in Dubai

 

It's the brainchild of the creative sorts at Nissan Europe, and the Juke-R’s engorged bodywork conceals the running gear from Nissan’s Ferrari-eating GT-R supercoupe. As you can imagine, squeezing the 485bhp 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine, six-speed gearbox and all-wheel drive system beneath the Juke’s compact frame required a huge amount of work.

The project was undertaken by UK-based race and engineering experts RML – who built Nissan’s last crazy hatchback, the mid-engined V6 Micra 350 SR, and have experience in developing racers for the world’s touring car championships, Le Mans and even ovals. The Juke-R has also had assistance from Nissan’s European Technical Centre (NTCE) in Cranfield, Bedfordhsire.

With just 22 weeks to take the Juke-R from hare-brained idea to hair-raising reality, RML’s engineers made extensive use of computer-aided design (CAD) to ensure the internals of the GT-R would fit inside the skin of the Juke. Once that fundamental fact was established fabrication work commenced on a pair of Juke-Rs.

Each remarkable ship-in-a-bottle build not only required the precise dissection of a Juke bodyshell, but the equally painstaking truncation of a GT-R drivetrain. With the propshaft shortened and precisely machined to ensure perfect balance the engine and transmission were shoehorned into the Juke, which then had bespoke wider wheelarches fitted to accommodate the GT-R wheels, brakes and suspension.

The end result is something quite incredible and worthy of comparison with other great factory-built Frankenstein’s monsters such as the legendary Renault Espace F1 and BMW X5 Le Mans. 

More remarkable still is the fact both Juke-Rs are road legal and are docile enough for anyone to drive. They even have air-conditioning, which is handy when you’ve invited the world’s media to drive them in the sun-baked Emirate of Dubai.

So what does a near-500bhp Juke feel like to drive? Incredible, that’s what. The roll cage and racing seats add a certain edginess to the initial experience, but once strapped inside the Juke-R is a cinch to drive, largely due to the GT-R’s double-clutch transmission, which requires you to do nothing more strenuous than grab the gear selector and slot it into ‘A’ for automatic shifts or ‘M’ if you want to use the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

From this point on the Juke-R is a crazy, sense-scrambling fairground ride of a car, rumbling and chuntering in typical GT-R fashion, not to mention firing you from corner to corner with absurd and highly addictive ease.

At just over 1,800kg (around 60kg more than the GT-R) the Juke-R is no flyweight, but with all that power and torque it has the same physics defying feel as Nissan’s iconic flagship, yet because it has a shorter wheelbase it’s even more agile – the way it turns into to corners just has to be felt to be believed. 

All the GT-R’s electronic wizardry remains intact, and is so clever Nissan has adapted its responses to cope with the Juke-R’s subtly different dynamics, so it exhibits awesome braking stability and tremendous traction. Think of it as a 21st century Group B rally car and you’re not far off imagining the scale of the Juke-R’s abilities.

It might be a marketing tool, but only someone with an acutely suppressed sense of humour (and adventure) could fail to love this mad creation. Unsurprisingly – and a little disappointingly - there are no plans to make Juke-Rs for sale to the public, but that didn’t stop at least twenty people with the means to pay any price approach Nissan with a clear desire to own one while the cars were in Dubai. That speaks volumes for the raw appeal of the Juke-R and quality of the engineering required to create them. 

For an alternative review of the latest Nissan Juke visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

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14 Comments

WOW!!!

It's a pity I can't own one! I want one NOW!!!

By nuno_do_rosario on 23 January, 2012, 12:32pm

I want one, please sell me it

By andy007007 on 24 January, 2012, 7:29am

pointless? worthless? you be the judge!!

can somebody tell me what's the purpose of this project?
Another kit-car? So, what?
At 250,000 pounds?? I can't stop laughing!!!
Get a real job my friends!

By kirra1 on 24 January, 2012, 9:05am

witness

I live in Dubai and witnessed these 2 animals flying around the Autodrome, what a sight. I also had a good look round them in the pit's. They HAVE to make at least a limited number, say 300.
my order would be for number 1.

By bobsnicholson on 24 January, 2012, 9:20am

I Don't Believe It!!!!!

What was the point of this exercise and what makes them special??

Petrolheads have been doing this sort of thing in a shed or garage practically since cars were invented, with the idea of making something faster than the original sum of it's and the donor car's parts.

These Jukes are meant to be specials, never to be repeated again therefore why don't they make them special. What really bugs me is that even with a shortened propshaft and smaller dimensions plus other modified/cut down bits they still manage to be heavier than a GTR by over 60Kg!! WTF!!!

At least make them lighter and quicker than a GTR. It's not like they are going to go into mass production. At least make them special and worthy of the name, and time and money spent. This was nothing more than a good demonstration of how to blow ridiculous amounts of money on vehicles that are good for nothing more than a few shits and giggles for the press!! They aren't even any quicker than a bog standard GTR. What a really strange marketing exercise.

Why didn't they spend the money on making a GTR that was superlight and superfast made entirely made of Carbon Fibre with CF propshafts, driveshafts, gearbox casing, body & chassis, highly tuned engine etc etc... and made something really special and worth the effort and expense, showing the world just how innovative and smart they really they are.

This was meant to be Nissan showing off how really smart they are, their time to shine, but instead they've shown everyone what utter numpties they are!! Owners of GTR's will be peeing their pants with laughter!!

Nissan should be taking note of very small manufacturers like Prodrive who showed the world just how smart and innovative they are when they designed the P2 and came up with something that was far more than the sum of it's parts.

Truly Epic Nissan....Epic FAIL that is!!

By scoobiewrx on 24 January, 2012, 10:14am

Uh Oh

That was meant to be 'lets face it,' not 'letss face it.'

By bob809 on 24 January, 2012, 10:45am

Publicity Wheeze!

Stop frothing about practicalities, weight, speed and whatever. This is a huge publicity wheeze which may spin off somewhere................

By Redalfa on 24 January, 2012, 12:50pm

I love just love binary views in these posts

Scoobie et-al, the point of this project is "pure marketing", for the money they spent on building these 2 cars Nissan could also have put together a 60 second pot and some decent media buying (just like most other car makers...). Building these 2 cars has generated way more buzz and interest in Nissan and their products through all of the various channels, its got you off your butt and typing feverishly on your keyboard for starters, Way to go Nissan. R&D and Marketing working hand in hand with top results!

NB Scoobiewrx; flaming people online as you did above is plain rude.

By ius101 on 24 January, 2012, 2:30pm

Errm.. read the article?

Having read the FULL article (including the first opinion at the side), there is a mention of NISMO producing a high performance Juke. Maybe Nissan read your comments scoobiewrx......

By Daren on 24 January, 2012, 9:15pm

Errm.. I read it the first time. :O)

With the greatest respect......

There's a huge difference between making a Nismo slightly breathed upon Juke with a few extra ponies for the mass market to a Nismo heavily breathed upon one or two off specials with considerably more power and better handling than the standard effort.

I don't think you read my posts properly. :O)

By scoobiewrx on 25 January, 2012, 10:17am

money for nothing

scoobiewrx don't waist your time trying to make blind men see the light.
You have put it perfectly and in detail, so if the y cannot understand it too bad!

Bob809, with all due respect, are you implying that you cannot wait to see something like that coming up for your iQ?
If so, then I would assume that the iQ is the first car you ever owned or you have probably gone shopping neglecting your true needs or desires.
I still cannot believe that people spend so much money to
buy a 2mx2m means of transportation.
I call it 'means of transportation' because I cannot personally consider 2mx2m automotive metal boxes on wheels, such as Smarts, iQs and all alike, as Cars.
Sorry, no offence, this is my personal opinion.

On the other end scoobiewrx surely has a CAR and much more than that.

By kirra1 on 25 January, 2012, 11:37am

Insanely awsome!

This modified Juke looks awsome. Wonder what's it like to drive. Surely freakier than it looks. Quite an experiment, Nissan. I would say.
The car looks out of this world. There's something Batmobile about it. The stuff of adolescent dreams.

By fadyady on 26 January, 2012, 12:56am

A.W.E.S.O.M.O.

What engineering!! Congrats Nissan and RML on making such a fun TOY! this must be the best toy for big boys stuff I have ever seen :)

and LOL scoobiewrx missed the point totally :DD

By hubabuba on 7 February, 2012, 8:27am

Think about it...

Even if it does have the engine of the GTR, it still looks like a Juke, and is a lot less able than it's Godzilla mother.

By Kiddir on 7 March, 2012, 11:59pm

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Pictures

Nissan Juke R front cornering
Nissan Juke R rear cornering
Nissan Juke R interior
Nissan Juke R badge
Nissan Juke R interior
Nissan Juke R rear detail
Nissan Juke R front three-quarters
Nissan Juke R rear three-quarters
Nissan Juke R engine
Nissan Juke R profile

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FIRST OPINION

    Nissan is a brand that likes to have fun with its products, and the pair of Juke-Rs are perhaps the ultimate expression of this willingness to push the limits. Sacrificing a couple of GT-Rs might seem wrong to some people, but the end result is something truly fabulous. There’s no chance of the Juke-R being anything more than a marketing exercise, but with a new high-performance Juke NISMO set for launch this year it’s clear Nissan has other quick crossovers such as the MINI Cooper S Countryman firmly in its sights.

 

AT A GLANCE

    Price: £250,000 (est.)
    Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged V6, 485bhp
    Transmission: four-wheel drive, six-speed dual clutch automated manual
    Top speed: 160mph (est)
    0-62mph: 3.7sec (est)
    Economy: 23mpg (est)
    CO2: 279g/km (est)
    Equipment: 19in wheels, Brembo brakes, roll cage, racing seats, air-conditioning
     
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