Japanese carmaker Nissan just revealed a new version of the Juke at the LA Auto Show. It's called the Juke Nismo RS and it will be available for the 2014 model year. Nissan already has the Juke Nismo, so it's only natural to wander what's different about this one.
The "RS" basically means more power, better handling and a race-inspired interior, proving that crossovers can be fun, despite being tall and boxy.
Still powered by a 1.6-liter turbo engine, the Nismo RS offers best-in-class 215 hp and 210 lb-ft. There's aren't actually any cars in its class, but the hot Juke really is quite powerful for a little turbo engines car, and it's probably going to be cheaper than the 214 hp MINI Countryman JCW. And yes, there really is only one horsepower between the two.
But it's the rest of the powertrain where I think Nissan has done something really cool. The manual version of the car has a limited slip differential. They also added extra structural rigidity and larger brakes.
The interior is where Nissan's designers really went wild, they added Recaro front seats, carbon fiber-look finishers, special red-and-black color theme with, suede, Alcantara and leather trim.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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