When Nissan released the first Juke-R in 2011, no one really thought Nissan would be insane enough to go for round two… and yet, we just received a press release from Nissan announcing an “exciting upgrade” to the Juke-R, due to be unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend.
A quick refresher: for the original Juke-R, Nissan strapped in the 530-hp with 488 lb-ft VR38DETT – a 3.8L twin-turbo V6 from the famed GT-R under the hood of a evil-looking matte-black lowered Juke with massive fender flares and monster GT-R brakes on all four corners. However, the Juke-R was more than just a lowered Juke with a Skyline engine. Less than five Juke-Rs exist and each one of them was painstakingly assembled to a tune of around $700,000.
Not much is yet known about what we can expect from the Juke-R 2.0 but we do know the Juke-R 2.0 started life as a 2014 Juke before it went under the knife. It emerged with even more GT-R DNA and Nissan says we can expect 600 hp from the little terror.
You’ll recognize the same matte-black paint scheme used on the original, and for the most part, Nissan have applied the same formula to the 2.0, as the original. Wheels and brakes lifted right from the GT-R, a sinister ‘bat-like’ two-piece wing, integrated dual exhausts, and of course, the updated 2014 Juke headlights and taillights make it seem even more evil than the original sin.
The Juke-R 2.0 arrives in time to celebrate the fifth birthday of Europe’s best loved compact crossover, with over 600,000 units sold across Europe since its launch in 2010. Gareth Dunsmore, Marketing Communications General Manager for Nissan Europe said, “The Juke-R 2.0 is a perfect ‘crossover’ of the best bits of Nissan – real innovation showcasing our crossover prowess fused with the excitement of the GT-R supercar engine.”
Spectators and journalists (such as one of our wrtiers, Lesley Wimbush) will be able to experience first-hand the Juke-R 2.0 make its dynamic debut on Goodwood’s Hillclimb on all three days of the event. The Juke-R 2.0 will be driven by Nissan GT Academy graduate and Le Mans 24 Hours driver, Jann Mardenborough.
In the meantime, check out the video of a first-gen Juke-R taking on a Bugatti Veyron.
