The Nissan Juke Nismo

Nissan has given the green light to putting the Juke Nismo into production. It’s a kind of half-way house between the regular Juke and newly unveiled Juke-R (without the hefty price tag!) The Nismo has just made its debut at the Le Mans 24 hours race alongside the Delta Wing racer.

So what's changed from the regular Juke?

Well, for starters, the Nismo now looks more aggressive! The front bumper has been redesigned so that it has larger air intakes and longer LED running lights. It has the benefit of the 'Aero Package' which includes protruding side skirts, extended wheel arches, modified grille and a larger tailgate spoiler. All are said to improve the Nismo's stability at high speed. To finish, the Nismo now has 18 inch alloys and wider tyres to increase grip, which work together with the air intakes and rear spoiler to reduce high speed lift.

The Nismo's sporty nature continues inside where you will find red-stitched, suede-covered sports seats with greater lateral support and a redesigned steering wheel and gear knob. The red detailing also appears on the mirrors and there is a pinstripe on the lower body panels.

Nissan advise that the steering wheel, pedals, gauges gear knob and door trims have all been re-designed and adapted to improve the sporty feeling when driving.

Nissan intend to include a turbocharged 1.6 litre direct-injection petrol engine, however there is no word as yet as to power output. The suspension will be stiffened and the steering overhauled.

The Nismo will be built in the UK alongside the regular Jukes and will be available from January 2013-

Watch this space!