Nissan first announced in 2008 that it would launch a new compact crossover in 2010 to be manufactured at its Sunderland plant in the UK alongside the current Qashqai crossover (a European version of the Rogue). Then, last year, Nissan unveiled its radically-designed Qazana Concept, which previewed the new compact crossover.

Today, the Japanese automaker has confirmed the new model will be called the “Juke” and has released this teaser shot.

Set to go on sale in Europe this autumn, the Juke crossover will be revealed on February 10 before heading to the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March.

The Nissan Juke will inject some much-needed dynamism into the small car segment, offering European car-buyers an alternative to the traditional hatchback. The vehicle is a very important model for Nissan in the UK as it will fill the production void left by the Micra minicar, whose production is being moved to plants in Japan and India.

Sadly, there are currently no plans to introduce the Juke in the North American market.

Sadly, there are currently no plans to introduce the Juke in the North American market.

Just the Facts:

* The Nissan Juke-R, a concept car beefed up with the Nissan GT-R's drivetrain, has been introduced — but the automaker insists "the car is not for production."
* Nissan said only two Juke-Rs will be built, one in left-hand-drive and one in right-hand-drive.
* The Juke's standard 188-horsepower 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder engine has been replaced by the 530-hp 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 engine from the GT-R.


The Nissan Juke-R, a concept car beefed up with the Nissan GT-R's drivetrain, has been introduced — but the automaker insists "the car is not for production."

Nissan said in a statement that the road-legal Juke-R concept is designed to "test the public's reaction to a seriously sporty Juke." Only two Juke-Rs will be built, one in left-hand-drive and one in right-hand-drive, by motorsports outfit RML with input from Nissan Technology Center for Europe.

The Juke's standard 188-horsepower 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder engine has been replaced by the 530-hp 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 engine from the GT-R.

Exterior cues include flared wheel arches, revised front and rear bumpers, 20-inch forged alloy wheels, and a split rear wing.

The cabin gets the gauges, dials and 7-inch LCD display from the GT-R. The Juke-R also gets twin race-seats with five-point harnesses and a roll cage.

"Juke lends itself perfectly to a sports derivative and Juke-R explores that territory," said Nissan.

Nissan on Monday said it has sold 27,459 Jukes in the U.S. calendar year-to-date. When the car went on sale last fall, Nissan predicted it could sell 25,000-30,000 in the U.S.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd will reveal a bold new future for its Nismo performance arm. One of the undoubted stars of the Tokyo Motor Show will be the Nissan Juke Nismo, an idea of how a premium sports version of the hugely successful compact crossover could look.

With its distinctive styling Nissan Juke has redefined the highly competitive B-segment, but the Juke Nismo Concept is even more dramatic. It's lower, wider and has a tougher stance. Even standing still, it's clearly a performance car.

Aimed at a car-loving audience looking for a car that reflects an edgy personality, Juke Nismo Concept magnifies the standard car's unique mix of compact car agility, coupé-like responses and SUV strength.

"The global sales success of Nissan Juke has proved beyond doubt that customers are looking for something different," said Andy Palmer, Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. "The Juke Nismo Concept takes that idea to the next level. It's energetic, distinctive and highly desirable."

Finished in signature Nismo colours of pearl white with red highlights, the Juke Nismo Concept wears a body kit created by Nismo's aerodynamic specialists whose skill has been honed perfecting racecar bodywork.

And as on a racecar, the Juke Nismo Concept body kit is designed not just to look good, but also to be dynamically highly efficient. New parts include revised lower bumpers front and rear, wider fenders and sill side skirts.

The grille pattern has been changed while the tailgate spoiler has been modified by the addition of side elements to control airflow more efficiently. Even the shape of the door mirrors has been altered to enhance the car's aerodynamic performance and reduce front and rear lift without increasing drag.

This reduction in lift means the contact patch of the tyres has been increased to improve grip, which is further enhanced by the arrival of stylish new 19-inch alloy wheels.

Naturally the Nismo treatment extends to the chassis which has been lowered and stiffened using proprietary parts of the sort that will be available from the expanded Nismo's parts catalogue, while the 1.6-litre direct injection turbo gasoline engine has been uprated to deliver more power and performance.

And Nismo touches can also be found in the interior of the Concept, where parts that interact with the driver's sense of sight, sound, look and feel - such as the steering wheel, pedals, gauges, shifter knob and door trims - have been redesigned to provide greater involvement when driving. Further underlining the performance aspects of the car, special leather-trimmed bucket seats have been added while the importance of the tachometer means the dial and needle are illuminated in red.

A feeling of enhanced sporting quality in the cockpit can be attributed to a matt effect applied to previously reflective surfaces, while the dramatic centre console - shaped to resemble a motorcycle fuel tank - has been given a metallic coating to enhance the purposeful feeling of the Concept.

"As the Concept shows, Nismo brings new levels of individuality to mainstream Nissan cars like Juke. The future for Nismo is to develop premium sports designs for an ever-widening range of customers," said Nismo President, Shoichi Miyatani.

"Our forthcoming range of cars will be just as accessible and innovative as every Nissan product, but with added Nismo energy they will be even more fun to own and drive," he added.

from autoblog:

It's a rare thing, but every now and then, our automotive wishes come true. Nissan has announced that it will produce the heinous juke-r in very limited numbers after a warm reception in dubai. The company has already received three orders so far, and nissan says it will begin taking additional orders in the next four weeks.

Each model will be built to order using model year 2012 drivetrain components, meaning there's a modest bump in power – 545 horsepower versus the original juke-r's 480. As you may recall, the first juke-r used bits cannibalized from a 2010 gt-r. How much will the machine cost? Nissan isn't saying, but we'd be willing to bet the juke-r will carry an msrp a bit higher than the gt-r.

With 545 horsepower crammed into the quirky lines of the juke, the machine is unlike anything else on the road. Nissan has also worked up a quick video to commemorate the production announcement. The clip focuses on the showdown between the juke-r and several supercars in dubai. Scroll down to check it out alongside the full press release.


Video at the link: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/03/n...n-run-w-video/

Nissan initially said they wouldn't divulge the price of the Nissan Juke R set to go into limited production this year, but a source tells us around $600,000 is the sweet spot for most markets. That's roughly the equivalent of 30 base Juke Rs.

The pricing for the 545 hp Godzilla-toad Juke R, if our source is right, matches with what we'd heard earlier from Skiddmark about it costing "Several GT-Rs" to buy one.

A price tag of $600,000 (roughly 450K Euros) is definitely equivalent to "several" of the roughly $100K sports cars. All that scratch gets you the custom RML-built hybrid, which involves the company buying both a Nissan Juke and a GT-R and then tearing them down to form the unholy parts alliance.

According to our friends at autoplus.fr, the total production run will be limited to no more than 20-25 vehicles.