By Viknesh Vijayenthiran
Nissan has announced that its insane Juke-R super-crossover will be built, but in a very limited run and on a build-to-order basis.
The production version will stay true to the original concept, complete with a twin-turbocharged V-6 engine sourced from a GT-R supercar, advanced all-wheel drive system and top speed of 160 mph.
One difference, however, is that the production Juke-R will use the more powerful 545-horsepower engine from the latest 2013 GT-R while the concept version used the previous 485-horsepower engine.
Nissan has already received three orders for the Juke-R, which is estimated to cost close to $200,000. Two of those orders, the automaker has revealed, come from high-profile members of Dubai society.
The announcement of the Juke-R's production was made during the presentation of a cinematic online movie starring the souped-up crossover and Nissan's inaugural GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordonez.
The short movie, Desert Nemesis, follows Ordonez as he takes on the world's best supercars in a secret street race held in Dubai. The actual race took place in January on the eve of the 2012 Dubai 24 Hours endurance race and saw the Juke-R decimate popular supercars like the Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
The Juke-R was built on behalf of Nissan by motorsports and engineering firm Ray Mallock Limited (RML) in the UK. Shoehorned into its chassis is the drivetrain of a Nissan GT-R, which as you may have guessed is no easy task considering the GT-R has a shorter but wider overall footprint than the Juke.
Some of the modifications include widened wheel arches, a full bodykit, a fixed rear roof wing, the GT-R's 20-inch wheels, Brembo brakes, and a custom roll cage. The interior was also given an extensive makeover, receiving a 4WD controller, the GT-R's touch-screen interface with all of the PS3-like goodies, and the engine control system.
Speaking at today's announcement, Gareth Dunsmore, European marketing chief for the Juke, said: "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."
If you happen to have a spare $200k lying around and are interested in owning this very unique vehicle, you can send in your request to Juke-R@Nissan.co.uk. Deliveries are scheduled to start this summer.
This story originally appeared at Motor Authority
