"We Just Like Doing Really Crazy Stuff Like This"
“We” being Nissan, and “this” being shortening a GT-R powertrain enough to fit a Juke bodyshell over it. It won’t ever make production, and it will probably spin dizzy, short-wheelbase circles every time it even thinks about a corner… but even the haters have to admit that this is a clever way to highlight the Juke’s unexpectedly sporty nature. But despite the argument that “there’s a history of Nissan engineers driving the business,” let’s be clear about one thing: Nissan’s involvement in this project is all on the marketing side. Once upon a time, Nissan’s engineers might have built a little monster like this out of sheer passion, in their spare time. Today, though, the work gets outsourced to specialty race engineering shops, RML in this case. It’s not a knock, that’s just how the world works anymore.
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I liked this idea back when it was a Chrysler K-car with a V8 crammed in it and 4wd, partially because it looked much better than the Juke.
Saw someone say they should call this thing the Nuke. Absolutely a great idea. EDIT: Not sure how that'd go over with the home office back in Japan, now that I think about it.
The joke becomes the joker? ;) I seem to recall a Chrysler / Lamborghini prototype, detroit car with a Lambo V10 or V12 engine? If memory serves me right they had to fit the engine so low it had basically no ground clearance. It might also be that i'm imagining things.. EDIT: Ryoku75 might have beaten me to it, took ages to search for the car on cigarette breaks and didn't find it anyway. Back to work now.
Lamborghini under Chrysler was definitely the worst period for the brand. Lambo's designer penned a typically wild Diablo, and Chrysler then turned it into a brick of cheese. The designer (can't remember his name) is on record as hating it. Audi has been the complete opposite. The Gallardo is still gorgeous after all this time, and still surprisingly competitive, and of course the Aventador is a monster. The front of the Portofino looks like a Mitsubishi FTO, only less interesting. The rear seems to be grafted on from a Dodge Stealth.