Nissan JUKE NISMO on sale from October

Remember when Nissan built the 362kW JUKE R powered by the GT-R supercar's mad twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6?

It was an insane compact SUV that will never be sold in local dealerships – but Nissan Australia has finally confirmed the sporty Nissan JUKE NISMO most certainly will.

Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester told us last month the hot JUKE was yet to be locked in as the third NISMO model to be sold here, but today's invite from Nissan Australia to the JUKE NISMO launch in Adelaide during October confirms it's all systems go.

Exact Aussie specs are not yet clear, but official ADR documents show the Nissan JUKE NISMO has been locally homologated in both 160kW six-speed manual and 157kW CVT automatic forms.

That means we'll get Europe’s full-house Nissan JUKE NISMO RS, which also delivers 280Nm of torque, rather than the standard JUKE NISMO version that settles for 147kW and 250Nm.

It also means Australia’s first NISMO-fettled JUKE will offer a fair bit more performance than the top-spec JUKE Ti-S, which generates 140kW/240Nm from the same 1.6-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder (also seen in the Renault Clio RS)

The Nissan JUKE NISMO is claimed to rip to 100km/h in 7.8 seconds but in reality the vehicle is likely to be far quicker than that – closer to seven seconds – if the regular JUKE is any indication.

The unusual small SUV’s visuals will be familiar to anyone who's seen other models in the NISMO range, which overseas markets includes everything from the Pulsar to the new Nissan LEAF EV.

Unique additions include a red pin-striped sports body kit including crimson mirror caps, fancy 18-inch wheels, a chunky exhaust outlet and a tizzied-up interior with lots of suede Alcantara upholstery and serious sports seats.

The Australian launch of the Nissan Juke NISMO will involve some race track testing so Nissan is obviously keen to show off the vehicle's dynamics, which benefit from reworked suspension and recalibrated steering to improve cornering performance, not to mention bigger 320mm front disc brakes.

Given the JUKE Ti-S is priced from about $30,000, we expect the JUKE NISMO to cost less than $50,000, making it the cheapest of Nissan's Australia's three NISMO models (the $61,490 370Z NISMO and the $299,000 GT-R NISMO).

While the Nissan JUKE NISMO will be unique in the small SUV segment, all three NISMO models provide a valuable halo effect for the brand, none of them are expected to be big sellers.

But if Nissan Australia gets its way, a Navara NISMO ute to take on the Ford Ranger Raptor would be the icing on the NISMO cake.