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Watch this 800-hp Nissan Juke-R savage the 'Ring

The concept of the 545-horsepower Nissan Juke-R that stuffs the drivetrain of a GT-R into a subcompact crossover is already insane, but Russian company Shpilli Villi Engineering has taken things even further with their own crazy riff on the idea. Its version tunes the engine up to a claimed 800 horsepower, plus a shot of nitrous for an extra 200 hp to put it (way) over the top. Naturally, a number of other upgrades have been exacted in an effort to try and keep the custom Juke's shiny side up and the driveline internals from spontaneously rearranging themselves. Those changes include a beefed-up switchable all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive layout and revised suspension.
Last year, you may recall that we saw an earlier version of Shpilli Villi Engineering's insanity testing with a mere 700 hp in a one-mile, standing drag race against a Bugatti Veyron. In that state of tune, the Juke-R lost, but by less than a hundredth of a second. Now, owner and racer Vladimir Ulanov has brought his madness to the Nürburgring Nordschleife to see how it does around a damp lap of the famous track.
It looks like 800 hp and a moist track might be almost too much for this Juke to handle, because Ulanov gets very loose at several points during the lap. Understandably, his passenger seems suitably impressed and possibly a little freaked out at the end. See what you think of this craziness by watching the video.

Infiniti's new VC-T changes the rules of small turbocharged engines

The upcoming Infiniti QX50 crossover does not get our pulse racing, no matter how shapely the QX Sport Inspiration concept that previews it may be. No midsize SUV does, to be fair. But it has something special under the hood – the world's first production variable-compression-ratio engine. That means the QX50's 2.0-liter turbo four, which makes 268 horsepower and 288 pound-feet of torque, will have up to 27 percent better fuel economy. Here's how it works. The trend of moving to smaller, turbocharged engines carries with it one big falsehood. Under low load when the turbo isn't needed, these engines are less efficient than an equivalent engine without a turbo because of the low compression ratio the turbo requires. That is, if you never need the extra power, you're wasting fuel. Turbocharged (and supercharged) engines use a lower compression ratio to prevent detonation. When you force extra air in a cylinder and mix it with fuel, it's more likely to prematurely go boom. Lowering the compression ratio prevents this problem, but it's less efficient. Infiniti's VC-T promises the best of both worlds, with a compression ratio that ranges from 8.0:1 for high-power turbo needs to a 14.0:1 ratio for fuel-sipping efficiency. At its heart the VC-T engine is a simple idea, but it's complicated to explain. Consider yourself warned. The photo below from Infiniti serves as a good visual overview. For the truly nerdy, this patent application covers the mechanical concept. Instead of having the pistons connected to the crankshaft, Infiniti's engine has a pivot arm with a connection on each end. One end connects to the piston, the other connects to a second lower shaft, which is controlled by an actuator arm. At any given time the engine's pistons move up and down according to the lobes on the crankshaft. But the actuator arm can change the angle of the pivot arm up and down. That is, the pistons still move in the same motion with the same stroke, but phase the entire stroke up or down. Move the pivot up and there's less room at the top, which means a higher compression ratio. Move the pivot down and the compression ratio goes down, too. As an added bonus, the lower shaft eliminates the need for counter-rotating balance shafts. Infiniti says this system works constantly and can vary the compression ratio to any number between 8:1 and 14:1. It also uses electronic variable valve timing on the intake valves to switch into Atkinson-cycle combustion for greater efficiency.

Nissan Rogue Detour uses Google Maps to go create virtual test drive from your doorstep

The best way to evaluate a new car before you buy it is to test drive it. All of the specs and reviews in the world cannot communicate how a car suits you as well as a few minutes behind the wheel. Interesting, then, that according to Nissan, the average buyer spends twice as much time researching new cars online than they do at dealers.
To market its new 2014 Rogue, Nissan has launched an online marketing experience aimed at bridging that gap. Called The Detour, it combines Google Street View and Google Maps to give you a custom-tailored virtual test drive. The neat, uniquely interactive part about Detour is that it allows you to specify a starting and ending location. Thus, you can use the microsite to 'show' the Rogue on your commute, or your favorite stretch of tarmac. To spice things up, Nissan has added some digital effects and set the experience to a song by British rapper M.I.A.
Detour seems to work better on shorter journeys, because it snips out some portions of the route in order to keep the experience from running too long. If you're going to try it out, we suggest using a crosstown journey rather than going cross country. Scroll down to get all of the details on the Rogue's latest marketing campaign, or click here to try it out for yourself.