Juke-R for production

3 May, 2012 12:53pm Luke Madden Comments

Nissan announces that the £400,000 545bhp Juke-R will go into limited production

It's all go at Nissan, with the company confirming a production version of the storming 545bhp Juke-R and four new all-electric vehicles.

A limited number of Juke-R models will go into production, after the manufacturer received an array of offers from potential customers that were apparently too good to ignore.

The interest in the model was sparked by its debut as the pace car in the Dubai 24 Hours race in January. A number of high-profile clients subsequently approached Nissan, and the first three models are already sold.

Order books officially open in four weeks, and rumours suggest potential customers will be looking at a sum of more than £400,000 for the exclusive model – more than five times as much as the £74,480 GT-R on which it’s based.

All of the GT-R’s running gear is used in this ultimate crossover, including the 545bhp twin-turbo V6 engine. The prototype Juke-R was based on a 2010 GT-R with 485bhp, but production models will get the platform and running gear from the latest 2012 car.

The sprint from 0-62mph will take just over three seconds, but despite the extra performance, the Juke-R will be no bigger than the standard Juke, with a wider track the only significant change.

The Juke-R will be built by British engineering company RML. It worked with Nissan’s Technical Centre Europe to create the prototype, and was behind the 2003 Nissan Micra-R concept, which had a mid-mounted 3.5-litre V6 from the 350Z.

At the other end of the scale, four new electric vehicles are planned for the next few years. These include an updated version of the Leaf, a van, an Infiniti and a commuter vehicle aimed at younger customers.