(October 4, 2011) Nissan is asking a very provocative question. Question: What do you get when you cross a Nissan Juke with a Nissan GT-R? Answer: The fastest, most exciting and daring compact crossover in the world.

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 Concept, the first ever super crossover.

Under the hood is a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 engine adopted directly from Nissan’s flagship supercar. The Juke-R promises to be insanely fast with 485 horsepower. Under the 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.

Currently under development, the bold design of the Juke is clear to see. However, with the addition of flared wheel arches, revised front and rear bumpers plus a unique split rear wing, this is no standard crossover. It’s a Juke that thinks it’s a GT-R, and with good reason.

However, the car is not for production. It 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 (NTC-E).

The interior merges crossover and supercar with finesse, as the Juke’s dashboard has been transformed to accommodate the gauges, dials and 7-inch customizable LCD display from the GT-R. The Juke’s iconic center 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.

“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.”

The first tests of the hot-rod concept are expected to be completed in November.

Will the Juke-R ever become a production car? Perhaps, depending public reaction, it may lead to a sportier version of the Juke, but without the GT-R engine under hood.