Juke-R: The World’s Fastest Crossover

What happens when a car company takes the engine from its most powerful, most expensive sports car and shoe-horns it into one of its compact entry-level crossovers?

In Nissan’s case you get the Juke-R, a slammed, tire-shredding version of the controversially-styled Juke crossover powered by the 480-horsepower turbocharged V6 motor from the company’s flagship GT-R. Nissan unveiled the concept vehicle as a “surprise guest” at the end of a press conference for another vehicle in Spain.

Nissan says the engine swap makes the Juke-R the world’s fastest crossover. However, the GT-R’s V6 was not an easy fit in the space designed for the Juke’s 1.6-litre four-cylinder. The team at RML, a U.K. motorsports specialist hired to build the Juke-R for Nissan, had to essentially build the car around the engine and its large, complex cooling system.

Nissan says RML will build two Juke-Rs – one with left-hand drive and one right-hand-drive version. Testing is to begin next month. A Nissan spokesman says the company plans to eventually turn out production versions of the vehicle.

Source: wsj.com