IT'S a journey from race track to road, via the digital world of video gaming - but then even the word Nismo has that echo of GranTurismo about it.

In reality the name means Nissan Motorsports International, the brand's performance division in Japan and dates back 50 years to the day the company's engineers tried to boost sales by dropping a powerful engine into a bog-standard saloon.

Two days later the car that became the iconic Skyline was on the racetrack - and Nismo was born.

Now, Nissan has brought its performance heritage to Britain - via the Asphalt 7: Heat mobile game on Apple and Android platforms - in the shape of the Juke Nismo.

It is the first in a range of specially tuned models and features an uprated version of Nissan's 1.6-litre direct injection turbocharged petrol engine producing 200ps of punch.

A range of cars benefiting from motorsport DNA and engineering honed on the track will follow, starting with the 370Z Nismo, due for sale later this year.

If the standard, British-built, Nissan Juke has a design that sets it apart from other cars on the compact crossover scene, the Nismo blows everything else out of the water.

Nissan's own description of the Juke is a car of two halves - the lower part pure SUV with chunky wheels, wide tyres, extended ground clearance and a robust stance.

But the top half is unadulterated sports car with a high waistline, slim visor-like side glass graphics and a coupe-style falling roofline.

And the coupe effect is underpinned by rear doors which have their handles hidden in the frame of the door, not a new innovation but definitely an effective one.

There's also an uprated chassis and suspension with 10 per cent stiffer springs plus an aerodynamic body kit with lower front and rear bumpers, wider wings and side skirts plus a modified grille and tailgate spoiler.

Inside, things get really snazzy with suede-trimmed Nismo sports seats with red stitching, Alcantara and leather trim for the steering wheel and suede door liners.

The cabin's eye-catcher is a motorcycle fuel tank-inspired centre console with high gloss piano black finish, while a neat touch is the red band to show when the steering wheel is aligned straight.

Of course it's one thing looking the part but the looks need to be matched by performance, and to that end the six-speed Nismo can blast from 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds and on to a potential top speed of 134mph.

Fuel economy is officially 40.9mpg though I didn't achieve anything close to that figure but on an environmental note the CO2 emissions of 159g/km are the same as the Juke DIG-T on which it is based, despite its extra power.