Nissan Juke-R Announced: Video

It was no rumour, you weren't dreaming: Nissan really is building a mental-as-anything version of its quirky Juke crossover. It's called the Juke-R. (We preferred Super Juke, incidentally.)

If the name didn't give it away, we can tell you that the Juke-R is powered by the GT-R's 3.8 litre twin-turbo V6.

It also gets the big hero's six-speed transaxle, connecting the front and rear axles with a hacked-up version of Godzilla's four-wheel-drive driveline and prop shaft.

Nissan reminds us that the V6 produces 390kW and 612Nm in its 'regular' tune, but the Japanese carmaker is keeping mum on the figures we can expect in Juke-R form.

For now, we've got only a pair of sketches and an engineering video to tide us over, but it's clear that the Juke-R will blow the doors off just about any SUV it comes across. 

Developed by Nissan's European operations and racing specialist RML, the Super Juke will get its guards pumped for a more aggressive look and to better accommodate the wider track and fat wheels.

There's a large splitter at the front, and a hefty diffuser likely resides at the back, beneath the two roof-mounted spoilers. Expect a stripped-out interior and lightweight panels.

"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, Nissan of Europe's Paul Wilcox said.

"This car will more than live up to the dynamic driving experience we engineer into all our cars."

Despite being designed as a fully road-legal car (a feat in itself), Nissan says the Juke-R will remain a one-off experiment in insanity.