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>> 5/October/2011
- Nissan Duke enters Crossover Market
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Nissan is bringing together the Juke and the GT-R to create the ultimate compact crossover. Not
content with re-shaping the new car market by pioneering the crossover
– a success reflected in the soaring sales of its Qashqai and Juke
models – Nissan is now creating the Juke-R, the first ever super
crossover. Highlighting that this is no standard crossover isthe
addition of flared wheel arches, revised front and rear bumpers plus a
unique split rear wing. It’s a Juke that thinks it’s a GT-R - and
that's no joke. However, the car is not for production and is a
one-off, road legal concept car, developed by Nissan and built by
leading motorsports outfit RML with input from Nissan Technology Centre
for Europe. “Nissan Juke is one of the most exciting cars on the
market today. Its bold crossover design has captured the imagination of
car buyers all over Europe; after just a year on sale we are
celebrating sales of more than 100,000 units,” said Paul Willcox,
Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Nissan in Europe. “Juke
lends itself perfectly to a sports derivative and Juke-R explores that
territory. Equally at home on road and track, Juke-R showcases two of
the most exciting cars in our range and highlights the technical
innovation that drives Nissan. This car will more than live up to the
dynamic driving experience we engineer into all our cars”. Under
the bonnet is a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6 engine adopted directly from
Nissan’s flagship supercar. Under the boot floor hides the GT-R’s
six-speed transaxle, with the front and rear ends joined by a modified
GT-R 4WD driveline and prop shaft, while chunky 20-inch RAYS forged
alloy rims fill each wheel arch. Making it a shame its only a one-off
car. The interior merges crossover and supercar with finesse, as
the Juke’s dashboard has been transformed to accommodate the gauges,
dials and 7-inch customisable LCD display from the GT-R. The Juke’s
iconic centre console, inspired by the fuel tank of a motorcycle,
remains while the rest of the interior has the look of a machine bred
for the track. Twin race-seats with five-point harnesses sit
inside a visible roll cage that gives FIA safety standards as well as
enhanced rigidity to provide the ultimate performance. The GT-R - Juke crossover is currently in development with the first tests expected to be completed in November.
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