Subscribe to the channel now: http://smarturl.it/autocar
A couple of weeks ago we thought the 542bhp Jaguar F-Type AWD might just have enough power to de-throne the internet’s darling Nissan GT-R. It didn’t.
We’ve gone away scratched our heads and decided this time to play a wildcard, with the Juke-R 2.0.
Disatisfied with the 485bhp V6 in the original Juke-R, Nissan has this time used a Nismo engine from the GT-R production line and bolted it in to this 2.0, meaning it now produces the same 591bhp and 485lb ft of torque as the GT-R Nismo. This is your pound for pound fight of the year.
In the right corner, at the helm of the Juke-R 2.0 we have Matt Prior, and in the left corner, none other than Jann Mardenborough, Nissans GT Academy winner.
Autocar, the world’s leading motoring magazine and website, delivers industry-leading news, the most in-depth car reviews and opinion from our team of experts. Our presenters include some of the world’s top motoring journalists who have unrivalled access to the world’s fastest, rarest, most exotic and most exciting cars on some of the world’s best roads and race tracks.
Visit http://www.autocar.co.uk for the latest news, reviews and analysis
New videos are uploaded to Autocar’s YouTube channel each week. Don’t miss a single one. Subscribe to the channel now: http://smarturl.it/autocar
http://www.youtube.com/autocar
LIKE Autocar on Facebook: http://www.autocar.co.uk/facebook
FOLLOW Autocar on Twitter: https://twitter.com/autocar
+1 Autocar on Google+: https://plus.google.com/+autocar
Script
MP: Hello welcome to Silverstone. This is quite organised isn’t it? This is one of our drag races we do. You might remember a couple of weeks ago we did one between a Jaguar all-wheel-drive F-Type and a Nissan GT-R, and the GT-R won. We thought, well, we should come back when we think we might have something that might beat the GT-R. So we’ve come back. There’s another GT-R here, although it is a GT-R Nismo, so it’s got 600bhp. But to try and beat it, I’ve got a Juke-R 2.0, which is basically another GT-R. Basically, it’s got a GT-R engine, GT-R drivetrain in a Juke style body. Driving the Nissan Nismo is former GT academy winner, LMP2 racer, GP3 driver, podium finisher at Le Mans, Jann Mardenborough. The loveliest man in motor racing. Driving the Juke car will be me. Now we’ve both got ballast of a passenger and because they’re a little bit worried about the transmission of this 600bhp car, we are doing a sort of rolling start. But anyway I’ll get lidded up and we will see which one is faster. MP: Oh, windows gone up over there. It’s getting serious. Right. JM: But off-the-line I had him, and I thought it was fine, and then I looked and he was alongside. JM: Wow that’s much quicker than I, much closer than I thought it would be. TD2: That was bloody closer than I thought. We were, alright, a tad quicker on the start at go. Got a slight jump. We pulled away, I reckon half a car, then he overtook us. MP: I reckon it’s when the aero kicks in. He just starts to come back. MP: Second run then and I’m one-nil down already, but I’m not going to let Mardenborough’s mind games get the better of me. MP: The Juke-R is off to a better start again. It really does have exceptional traction. And this time it holds it all the way to the end. Stick that in your buttery biscuit base. TD1: Ar mate, once it gets going it really starts reeling it in. I think it’s because it’s short wheelbase, it’s just better initially off the line. TD2: We were rolling a tad quicker and when you went go, yeah defiantly we are way ahead on reaction and we got half a car straight away. We were pulling away a little bit until probably fifth gear and then he really seemed to come back at us. TD1: We were talking fractions anyway. It’s like that. JM: It does lag as well, so you like pull it and nothing happens and he’s gone. So you lose. As soon as he says go, I’m on it. MP: Run three then, and let’s see if we can finally put the GT-R to bed. MP: We’re off to a slightly better start, and I’m maintaining it. This is unusual. Oh no, here he comes now. JM: Did they catch up in the end though? MP: On run three, Mardenborough gets a better start and even the Juke’s superior traction can’t overcome the GT-R Nismo. By the end it pulls out a narrow victory, showing that even a lightly modified GT-R can’t beat a GT-R. MP: So there we go. Two-one to the GT-R Nismo in the end. But I will tell you what I think is interesting. I think the engine response on the Juke-R is sharper because he gets away even, when Jann gets a bit of a jump on me. He didn’t jump the start but he got a jump on me on the final run. That comes back at low speed, very quickly. Only above fourth gear when the better aerodynamics of that, CD 0.37 and that’s 0.44, that that really pulls away. It’s close but GT-R wins again.