Last week, we reported that Nissan was rumored to be building a "Super Juke" variant of its already oddball Juke small crossover. Today, we have confirmation from Nissan that it is building the Juke-R, as the vehicle has come to be known, creating the first-ever super crossover. This is the same automaker that built a convertible crossover; why are we still surprised?
The formula is simple: take the Nissan Juke and wholesale import the Nissan GT-R's power train into its chassis. The official release specifies that the Juke-R will be powered by a version of the GT-R's 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 that sends 480 horsepower through the GT-R's six-speed gearbox and a shortened version of the ATTESA-ETS Pro dual driveshaft AWD system and to the ground through four 20-inch Rays forged wheels, also from the GT-R.
Inside, the Juke-R will also benefit from a GT-R cabin tech transplant in the form of a 7-inch touch-screen display with customizable digital gauges for monitoring nearly every aspect of the vehicle's performance. Nissan specified that the Juke's motorcycle-style center console will remain, but that's likely one of the only stock bits that will, as the Juke-R's interior will mostly be stripped to make room for an FIA-compliant roll cage and dual racing bucket seats with five-point harnesses. Nissan expects to actually race this thing, although likely not in any official capacity.
Which brings us to the reason for that clever asterisk is this article's headline. Although Nissan is building the Juke-R, it will be "a one-off, road-legal concept car." Technically, it'll be a two-off since Nissan will actually be building a pair of them--one in right-hand drive and another in left-hand drive (presumably as a gift to Wayne Cunningham, CNET's resident Juke enthusiast).
When asked why it is creating such a mad machine, a representative replied, "Nissan is building the Juke-R because we can." Who can argue with that logic?