Nissan Juke appears on banknotes

WHAT is the ultimate symbol of fame?

Is it your own TV show? A fragrance with your name on it? Your own star on Hollywood Boulevard?

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no It has to be your face on a bill.

Only Her Majesty and the absolute crème de la crème of British historical figures appear on our legal tender.

For example Winston Churchill, Charles Darwin, James Watt, Jane Austen, JMW Turner, Alan Turing.

Kudos to Matt Weaver, 49, from North London, who designed the Nissan Juke.

I’ve always known Juke to be a good crossover, but they love him so much in Cambodia that he’s featured on a 500 riel note.

Worth about 10p but still an achievement.

Weaver said, “I have the bill at home somewhere.

One of the boys came back from vacation with it.

“It shows a juke crossing a bridge.

We always thought Juke was on the money. It turns out it really is. I just wrote a Sun headline there, didn’t I?”

sure have.

More importantly, Juke continues to make big bucks for Nissan, 12 years after the bug-eyed original invented the crossover segment. Global sales have exceeded 1.2 million.

Juke is designed, engineered and built here – so it’s a real British success story.

Just like Qashqai, Weaver’s other hit.

Now Juke 2 goes hybrid (no cable required) to keep it fresh for those who are more mindful of the world around us.

I’ll keep it simple

The first gear is pure electric drive. It will do up to 80 percent of city driving as an electric vehicle and up to 34 mph.

So low emissions.

Born to be different

And the 1.6-liter petrol-electric combo is 20 percent more fuel efficient than a plain old petrol Juke. It also has a little more oomph.

The electric motor adds 49 hp to the 94 hp petrol engine – total output 143 hp – and you get even more torque.

That’s why you see me here in the Sahara driving this one-of-a-kind Juke hybrid rally car.

You won’t be able to buy one with a roll cage, roof lights or a hydraulic handbrake – that’s the fun stick for big skiers – but the hybrid powertrain and transmission are untouched by the street car.

It was much fun.

Juke 2 is a lot sportier than Juke 1 – lighter, stiffer, quicker steering – and I’ve always said the chassis could easily handle more grunt.

More than that if I’m honest.

Weaver tells me Juke was inspired by dune buggies and off-road rally cars.

That’s why the 2015 Gripz concept, which previewed the Juke 2, was painted red and black – as a nod to the legendary Datsun 240Z, winner of the 1971 East-African Safari Rally.

That’s why this Juke hybrid also has a black bonnet and a black roof.

it looks crazy

Nissan won’t say, but I’m guessing there must be a special edition in the pipeline.

Or at least give us the option of a black hood.

After all, Juke was born to be different.

Weaver said, “I think it’s cool. It has a real Skunkworks look and cranks up the volume of what’s already embedded in the car.

“If someone wanted to put a black vinyl sheet on it, you’ll see the guidelines in the hood are ready to put it on too.

“I can imagine someone would.”

When Weaver retires and spends his days pruning his rhododendrons, he can tell his grandkids that he’s a crossover king.

And he’s got the bill to prove it.

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Q&A WITH JUKE DESIGN CHIEF MATT WEAVER

Where does the name Juke come from?

American Football. It means dodging, getting out of the way. yell someone. For me, that symbolizes the car and its design. It captures the character of the car. It tells you it’s unpredictable. It could shift, it could move.

WHEN Juke 1 launched in 2010, there was nothing else on the road like it. How did you manage it?

Qashqai was working and the “wise man” might have thought that maybe we should just make a smaller version of it. But one of Nissan’s strengths is that each car has its own character.

With Juke, everything was very different from the start. Everything was the opposite. Do it differently. Every other car had two headlights. We had four. It was just a feeling that it could be a little more light-hearted, a little more bubbly and exuberant.

The idea of ​​a dune buggy is pretty lighthearted and takes over the terrain, but in a different way. It became so popular that in Sunderland we had to add another layer to make it. It doubled predictions.

NOW Juke 2 has at least 24 competitors.

Interestingly, for me, Juke is still the center of the market. Everything is compared or rated next to Juke. It’s the benchmark.

Gen-two is a premium offering, the quality is much better and I think it exceeded our expectations again.

Maybe gen-one was more polarizing. Some people see it more as a “female” car.

I think gen-two covers a broader customer base. It has a lot of juke cues. It’s quirky enough, but also sporty, with a good attitude.

THE next juke will definitely be electric. Do you fear that electric vehicles will become household appliances or mobility capsules?

I get up in the morning to make sure they don’t. There are many reasons for this – because of legislation, aerodynamics and costs.

But actually within design at Nissan, even our leaders, it’s very clear that we’re trying to make our own way.

It’s always chosen along the lines of, “We haven’t seen this before, this could be pretty cool, let’s try it,” rather than “Oh yeah, I’m comfortable with that.” So we always go the opposite way.

Juke will always be the provocative one, something that will push new boundaries.