Update: The price referred to in this story does not reflect American pricing. We now know that the Juke-R will cost around $590,000 in U.S. dollars.
In a surprise move, Nissan announced that it will offer production versions of its insane Juke-R concept though only on a per-order basis and in a limited supply.
The insanity began late last year when the automaker’s ever-intrepid RML engineers decided to surgically enhance the Juke crossover with a GT-R drivetrain, creating one of the most ticklishly entertaining sports concepts to date. Two were built and released to be driven on public roads, but further Juke-R generations seemed not the least bit likely — as is the case with almost all cars like this.
Throwing convention to the dogs, Nissan announced during a presentation of its online movie starring gamer-turned-racer Lucas Ordonez, that it will offer a limited number of the freakish Jukes to the public.
Further sweetening the news, it seems the 458-hp engine on tap in the concept will be scrapped in favor of the GT-R’s updated 545-hp twin-turbo V6.
In case you missed our previous coverage or forgot the specs, the modified Juke gets widened wheel arches, a fixed rear spoiler, full body kit, the same 20-inch wheels as the GT-R as well as it’s touch-screen interface, a four-wheel drive controller and ECU. Oh, and the rear seats are gone too in favor of a heavy roll cage to stiffen the body and brace for all the extra power.
“The Juke-R was originally intended as a one-off concept to marry two of Nissan’s most innovative models. But the reaction we had to the car in Dubai was amazing–people were making offers for the original on the street,” Gareth Dunsmore, European marketing chief for the Juke said.
The car will cost around $200,000 and units are already rumored to be on order for a couple of Dubai dignitaries. Delivery is scheduled to start this Summer so if the price tag doesn’t scare you off and blowing the doors off every other car sounds like fun then put an order in by emailing Nissan at: Juke-R@Nissan.co.uk.
GALLERY: Nissan Juke-R
Get the Flash Player to see this player.