Nissan is celebrating its 50th Anniversary since the driver Edgar Herrman and navigator Hans Schüller won the 1971 African rally rivalry in a 240Z. The brand has released pictures of a new Rally Concept with industry-shaking looks.

The Juke name has been around for a long time, and like most cars, it has had its ups and downs over the years. The original Juke first rolled out of the production line in 2010. It had innovative technology features on the inside, a huge and robust engine under the hood, and an exterior design that featured a sweptback body and splitting headlights, which made it one of a kind, especially at that time.

Unfortunately, its sales decreased over the years and eventually hit a fatal nosedive by 2017, sending Nissan back to the drawing board. Two years later, the Juke was revived when Nissan introduced a second-generation Juke model in the European market. This time, it came with a sleeker design that made it look like a baby crossover, with the performance of a bigger crossover. Since then, the Juke has turned into one of the most popular and high-performance vehicles in Europe.

For 2021, Nissan decided to create a performance-oriented concept vehicle inspired by the second generation Juke and the epic rally win by Edgar Herrmann 50 years ago. The result was the Juke Rally Tribute. This concept car gets its mini crossover to build properties from the second Juke and features extended wheel arcs, new bumpers, and a lot of additional lighting on both ends. It also gets bigger wheels and two spare wheels at the back.

The Juke Rally Tribute Concept pays homage to the iconic 240Z that won the 1971 East African Safari Rally. However, there is little chance that it will come into production. However, it's still an awesome ride to reflect on. Read to find out more about the concept’s history, specs, and more.

The Nissan Juke Rally Tribute Concept Was Inspired By The 1971 Rally Win

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Via: Nissan

Rally has been a very popular sporting event for as long as we can remember. To automakers, the rally was and still is a huge chance to showcase the capabilities of their vehicles in this sport. In 1971, the East African Rally was a very big deal as a highly anticipated race.

When the Nissan 240Z came with a triumph, it was a definite success for the brand. Driven by Edgar Herrmann and navigated by Hans Schüller, the 240Z secured first place.

The victorious 240Z had a unique design that featured an aerodynamic body to maximize its rally performance. Under the hood, the legendary 240Z ran with a 2.4-liter straight six-cylinder engine, which produced a staggering 207 hp - perfect for rally racing. This engine [paired with a four-speed manual gearbox to power the rear wheels. As a consecutive win, other competitors who were driving 240Z came in second and seventh places.

Besides celebrating the win, Nissan is also reflecting on its achievements in producing some of the best crossovers, electric powertrains, and other pioneering technology, according to Coralie Musy, the Vice President, Brand and Customer Experience of Nissan’s European Branch.

More than four decades later, the rally-winning car was restored to good condition. As of 2021, the 240Z rest among Nissan's most treasured car collections, somewhere near the brand’s global headquarters in Zama, Japan.

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The Juke Rally Tribute Concept Looks Rally-Ready, But It Only Exists In Renderings

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Via: Nissan

According to the car and driver report, the Safari Rally Kenya will be paying a homecoming to the World Rally Championship calendar for the first time in nearly 19 years. As a commemoration of the impending African rally, Nissan has released the images of their Juke Rally Tribute Concept.

On the outside, the Juke has received a lot of its styling and color blends from the 1971 victory car. The under-wide wheel-arch has been extended to accommodate the sporty larger tires. The exterior also features auxiliary lighting like the circular lamps on the hood and an integrated light car with rectangular LED lights into the roof rack.

For an extra visual appeal, Nissan has added redesigned bumpers, a brawnier skid plate, and short overhangs, which showcase the car’s extreme rally performance.

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What’s The Future For the Nissan Juke Rally Tribute?

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Via: Nissan

The Nissan Juke Rally Tribute Concept only exists in pictures, and there’s isn’t a possibility that it will roll out of the production line, at least as far as we know. As such, we can’t zero in on the engine specs or exact performance capabilities.

For now, the juke is no longer available in the American market. Instead, it has been replaced with the Nissan kicks, whose latest version debut in 2020.

Nissan has a strong will for creating high-powered vehicles. Recall, that Nissan created the Juke-R, which was powered by a turbocharged V-6 engine that produced up to 545 hp. In that sense, there could be hope for the Juke Rally after all. And when does arrive, Nissan visualizes the Juke Rally running on a hybrid powertrain.