Skip to main content

Nissan’s Juke RSnow doesn’t care if winter is coming or going

Nissan’s Juke has always been the Rogue’s quirky younger sibling. The endearing crossover has also been the subject of some of Nissan’s most outrageous experiments, like getting the 545 horsepower GT-R shoved inside it just to see what the result would be. This time, Nissan tweeted an image of the perfect winter-equipped Juke that we’re sure everyone on the East coast wished they had this week.

Trax-0151
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Dubbed the Juke RSnow, it’s the latest crazy Juke-based Frankenstein’s monster to come out of Nissan’s “drunken bet” division. The car itself is a stock Juke Nismo RS, which is powered by a 215 horsepower turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder with direct injection. This is mated to an Xtronic CVT with a sport mode setting. The bottom half is a track system that comes from American Track Truck, which simply swapped out the wheels for the tracks that they make compatible for regular vehicles.

Recommended Videos

According to Wired, the Juke RSnow was born into existence by an ice-driving Academy located in Lapland, Finland. Modding the Juke to fit the treads was a simple matter, with just a few bits of the front and rear fascia trimmed off to accommodate the bulk treads. Electronically, the torque vectoring system that the crossover usually implements for tighter turns on tarmac was recalibrated to work properly with the track system.

Don’t start calling dealerships just yet, though. As nice as it would be to be able to forever abolish snow day concerns, this isn’t going to show up on Nissan’s website any time soon. Those interested to upgrade their current 4×4 can simply get the track system for around $15,000 from American Track Truck.  Until then, bundle up, stay warm, and dream of the tank-tracked automotive future you’ll build in time for next year.

Alexander Kalogianni
Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…
Plug-in hybrids are becoming more popular. Why? And will it continue?
Kia Niro EV Charging Port

There's a lot of talk about the idea that the growth in electric car sales has kind of slowed a little. It's not all that surprising -- EVs are still expensive, early adopters all have one by now, and they're still new enough to where there aren't too many ultra-affordable used EVs available. But plenty of people still want a greener vehicle, and that has given rise to an explosion in hybrid vehicle sales.

That's especially true of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which can be charged like an EV and driven in all-electric mode for short distances, and have a gas engine as a backup for longer distances or to be used in combination with electric mode for more efficient driving.

Read more
EV drivers are not going back to gas cars, global survey says
ev drivers are not going back to gas cars global survey says screenshot

Nearly all current owners of electric vehicles (EVs) are either satisfied or very satisfied with the experience, and 92% of them plan to buy another EV, according to a survey by the Global EV Drivers Alliance.

The survey of 23,000 EV drivers worldwide found that only 1% would return to a petrol or diesel car, while 4% would opt for a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) if they had to replace their car.

Read more
Trump team in sync with Tesla on ending crash-reporting requirements, report says
Beta of Tesla's FSD in a car.

The transition team of President-elect Donald Trump is planning to end existing car-crash reporting requirements to safety regulators, according to a Reuters report.

The report cites a document obtained by Reuters that lays out the transition team’s 100-day strategy for automotive policy. In the document, the team says the crash-reporting requirement leads to “excessive” data collection, Reuters says.

Read more