Juke R might be awesome, but Nissan HQ ain't happy [w/video]

The Nissan Juke R might be one of the company's most impressive engineering efforts in recent memory, but the skunkworks team behind it has apparently ruffled more than a few feathers with Nissan execs in Japan.

The UK team behind the Juke R apparently didn't seek approval from Nissan's higher-ups before beginning the build, and the unholy GT-R/Juke hybrid concept was apparently born in secret before the unending teasers – see the latest one after the jump – began making their way online.

According to sources close to the company, the release was a complete surprise to many at the automaker and several Nissan executives at the company's headquarters were put-off by the idea that a group of rag-tag engineers the team responsible for a number of Nissan projects, plus successful campaigns in WTCC, BTCC and Le Mans, would take the flagship for everything Nissan is capable of and toss it into an inexpensive compact crossover.

But like you, we think it's awesome, and we suspect when the execs get some seat time, they'll begrudgingly agree.