Tokyo Show: Nissan Juke Nismo

Nissan tuning arm Nismo has revealed a performance version of its compact crossover, the Juke. We have already seen the ballistic, GT-R-powered but non-production Juke-R, but the Nismo Juke Concept unveiled at this week’s 2011 Tokyo motor show aims to tease what a performance-orientated Juke could look like if it actually went on sale.  The standard car’s 1.6-litre direct injection turbo engine has been tweaked to deliver more power. The current range topper offers up 187bhp, and while there’s no official numbers for this concept, a figure of around 200bhp seems realistic. The power increase should see a few tenths shaved off the car’s 0-60mph time, which could drop towards 7.0sec. The chassis has also been enhanced, being lowered and stiffened to yield better body control and less roll. The Juke’s aerodynamics have also been adapted to reduce both front and rear lift without increasing drag. The rear spoiler, front grille, door mirrors and new bodykit have been altered to achieve this. This reduction in lift increases the tyres’ contact patch, improving grip. Nismo’s treatment has also found its way into the Juke’s interior, where driver contact points (steering wheel, pedals etc.) have been modified to enhance both look and feel. Further underlining the performance aspirations of the car, bucket seats have been added. The car’s main purpose is to give customers a glimpse into Nismo’s future; ‘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.’ That means we can expect a wider range of performance Nissan products, sporty versions boasting Nismo enhancements.

All the 2011 Tokyo motor show news is here