After showing off the prototype version for some time, Nissan has announced that it will put the Juke-R into production. The unique car is an amalgamation of the running gear from a Nissan GT-R and the body of a Nissan Juke crossover. Back in January, we called upon Nissan to consider building the Juke-R --
read Jonny Lieberman's blog right here.Nissan has so far received three orders for a copy of the Nissan Juke-R, and is currently taking orders for more examples of the car. A month from now, production of the Juke-R will begin in limited numbers. The best news for customers, however, is that the production Juke-R models will get a performance boost. While the two prototypes built employed the mechanicals of the 2010 GT-R and extracted 485 hp and 434 lb-ft of torque from a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-6 engine, versions of the Juke-R destined for customers will use the running gear from the 2013 GT-R. The new car's engine has been upgraded to 545 hp and 463 lb-ft, which could make the Juke-R even quicker than the 3.7-second 0-to-62-mph time previously quoted.
Other modifications on the prototype Juke-R included widening the body by 5.7 inches, fitting the suspension from the Nissan GT-R, installing all-wheel drive, reinforcing the chassis and adding a roll cage, and bolting on sundry aerodynamic parts to help keep the car stable as it approaches its 160-mph top speed.
The Juke-R was originally conceived as a prototype that was first shown in Dubai last year, but Juke marketing manager Gareth Dunsmore said public response to the car was overwhelming.
"People were making offers for the original on the street," he said in a statement. "With such a strong reaction, and with three genuine offers on the table, we decided we had to make the car a reality."
There's no word yet on pricing for the Juke-R, or in which markets it will be available, although Nissan notes that two of the three orders so far came from "a high-profile and well-respected member of Dubai society." The first three cars will be delivered to customers this summer. A Nissan spokesman in the U.S. said that at this point there are no solid plans for the Juke-R to be sold here; given the car was a special project developed in the U.K. by Nissan's European arm, we think North American availability is quite unlikely.
To celebrate the production debut of the Juke-R, Nissan also has released a new video showing the build-up to a street race between the car and a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, and a Mercedes-Benz in Dubai. Embedded below, Nissan says the clip "gives us the opportunity to see the Juke-R find its place among the world's elite at Dubai's International Marina Club. Nissan previously released a series of ten videos documenting the build process of the Juke-R prototype, culminating with a clip showing the car undergoing a shakedown test at a track in the U.K.