The Nissan Juke is high up on its wheels, sporty and it looks a bit like the love child of a frog and a wild boar. That’s what makes it so cool!
Yep, it’s a bit of an absolute oddball and it’s got nothing but its looks to thank for that. Well, guess what: it just got worse (meaning better). And I’m not just referring to altered looks here, but to a new motorisation as well. Nissan’s design and engineering boys thought it a good idea to perform some serious tuning on the Juke, both optically and technically. The result, called the Juke R, is one mean looking ride, and completely bonkers. If it’s still related to frogs and boars, mum must be a bullfrog while dad’s a forest pig with a temper.
What Nissan did, apart from fitting a container-load of plastics for spoilers and bumpers, is spoon-feed the model a big engine. And not just any engine, but a 3.8 litre V6 with dual turbo chargers. That’s the same engine as is propelling the hardcore, Porsche-busting Nissan GT-R sports car, for your information. You may, by now, think you’ve seen this news before and accuse me of digging up old news, but hold on. Don’t confuse this news with that about the concept-like version of this vehicle, which Nissan announced in October of last year. Of that one only two were built and, moreover, they only have 485 horsepower. Meagre, Nissan must have thought, because this new version will be fitted with 550 ponies, just like the latest edition of the GT-R.
That makes the Juke R a seriously fast car, expected capable of doing naught to sixty in less than 3.6 seconds. That’s a full second faster than an Audi RS6 with its 5.0 litre V10. The Juke R’s disadvantage compared to that, of course, is that you can’t take all your kids and all your luggage along.
And, small-family house-dads of the UK, there’s good news! The Juke R will be built in the UK, all twenty of them, so there’s a good chance of being able to get one. With a price tag of “only” 135,000 quid it’s a bargain. Off to the nearest dealership to place your order, lads!
