Nissan Juke-R (2012) production model pictures

By Ollie Kew 16 October 2012 15:00 Nissan's crazy Juke-R has finally morphed into a finished production vehicle fit for customers, and this white example is the first one signed off by the company. Buoyed by the relentlessly positive reaction to the original 2011 concept, Nissan will sell you a made-to-order Juke-R for a whopping £400,000 - almost 20 times the cost of a regular top-spec 1.6-litre turbo Juke. A £400k Nissan? Now I've seen everything... Granted, the price is rather hard to swallow, but it's a testament to just how much graft has gone into the Juke-R to morph Nissan's bulbous crossover with the giant-slaying GT-R super-coupe. Motorsport specialists RML handle production, which is 'simply' a case of shortening a GT-R's twin-turbo V6-powered all-wheel-drive powertrain, and squeezing it into a widened Juke bodyshell. The labour-intensive process isn't complete there - the Juke-R is then re-trimmed and fitted with the GT-R's adaptive infotainment display which monitors turbo boost, lap times and G-force. Still, for £400k the Juke-R had better boast impressive numbers! It does. The original concept cars ran an original R35 GT-R engine, good for 485bhp. That Porsche GT3 RS-beating sum was already enough to make the Juke-R stupendously fast (your writer sampled its brutality first-hand riding shotgun in the Juke-R at Millbrook Proving Ground, driven by racing driver Jann Mardenborough). However, for the production versions demanded by well-heeled Middle Eastern customers, Nissan has equipped the Juke-R with the very latest iteration of the GT-R's engine, which has an extra 60bhp: 545bhp overall. Remember that's just 10bhp behind the enormous BMW X6 M and you'll see why the AWD Juke-R can launch to 60mph in 3.0sec and hit 170mph flat out. As you'd expect in respect of that massive price tag, the Juke-R has been finished to a higher standard than the rough-and-ready concepts that RML stamped out in just 22 weeks. The wheelarch extensions and split rear wing remain, but the vents and diffuser are now fashioned from carbon weave, and the Juke-R sports a more defined front bumper. I've found a spare £400,000. Can I buy a properly-finished Nissan Juke-R? You can indeed. Production model number 001 is now finished and ready for delivery, and Nissan reports 002 is also nearly complete. If you want your very own you can contact Nissan to register serious interest, but if that price tag remains a touch too obscene then you might be more inclined towards the Nissan Juke Nismo. This bodykitted Juke is the first European market car to wear the Nismo badge, and gets a 197bhp version of the 1.6-litre turbo four-pot motor. It arrives in 2013 with an estimated price tag over £20,000.