Proton Satria Neo, McRae get first podium finish

Alister McRae came third in the Rally of Scotland driving a Proton Satria. This is a first ever podium finish for Proton in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.


Now living in Perth Western Australia McRae recently returned to his native Perth shire in Scotland to race the Proton Satria Neo to its best ever result.

Only seven days earlier McRae almost won a place on the podium in the Rally of China in a similar Satria Neo S2000.

McRae has been impressed with the Mellors Elliott Motorsport Proton Satria Neo S2000 and would like to compete in more Rallies with the car in 2010.

The Satria Neo S2000 made its first appearance on the IRC in June this year at the Belgium Ypres Rally and has been quick to show off its potential.



Chris Mellors is the team principal and he confirmed that a full IRC campaign as well as the Asia Pacific series is being prepared for 2010.

“We’re looking at a four-car program for 2010 – two in the IRC and two in the FIA Asia-Pacific Championship,” he said.

“Alister has driven for us in the Asia-Pacific series this year and until this weekend that was what we were planning for 2010 as well, but I know he’s enjoying this weekend a great deal so it could be interesting sorting that out.”

McRae was pleased to record Proton’s first podium finish in the IRC.

“The Proton chassis is one of the best I have ever driven”.

“Yes we’re doing the full IRC next year. We are looking forward to coming back and fighting these guys again,” Alister said.

“Kris Meeke (rally winner) has christened me ‘old safe hands’ but I can assure you these old hands were working far quicker than the brain!” McRae added.

McRae’s father was very proud, he himself being a five times British rally champion, Jimmy McRae, has been working with organisers of the inaugural Rally of Scotland and was extremely proud of his son’s return from Australia and joked : “He’s still a McRae!”


The Proton Super 2000 has a two litre engine that is based on the 1.8 litre engine from the Waja model and produces 210kW at 7600rpm, its usable power band is from 5,500 to 8,500rpm and uses a six speed sequential Xtrac 4WD transmission.

The car has been fitted with an innovative quick-change fuel control cassette that includes all fuel pumps, filters and valves. This is attached to the safety fuel cell and helps with quick maintenance.

Ventilated discs with alloy four pot calipers combined with the Neo’s low weight of 1150kg gives it excellent braking performance. The size of the ventilated discs can be changed, depending on the size of the wheels used. 15 inch wheels are used on gravel and 18 inch on tarmac, the calipers remain the same only the discs are changed.

The suspension setup can be fine tuned for any surface with a variety of anti-roll bars available for both front and back.

Proton Persona

Review Proton Persona, Specification Proton Persona :

Proton Persona Specifications :

* Engine: 1597cc DOHC four cylinder petrol 16 valve
* Power: 82kW @ 6,000rpm
* Torque: 148Nm @ 4,000rpm
* Top Speed: 180km/h
* 0-100km/h: 12.0 seconds (Man) / 14.3 seconds (Auto)
* 0-400m: N/A
* NCAP rating: N/A
* Safety: ABS, EBD, Dual Front Air Bags
* Turning Circle:
* Fuel Tank: 50 litres
* Fuel Type: 95RON Unleaded
* Fuel Consumption: 6.6 litres (Man) / 6.7 litres (Auto)
* Warranty: 3 Year / Unlimited Kilometre
* Service Intervals: 1 Year / 15,000kms
* Wheels: 15″ x 6.0″ Alloy
* Spare Wheel: Space Saver
* Weight: 1,250kg (Man) / 1,275 (Auto)

Proton profit surges up 87%

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S national carmaker Proton announced on Monday an 87 per cent rise year on year in second-quarter net profit due to strong sales at home.

The results come as Prime Minister Najib Razak urges the company to seek a tie-up partner in a bid to ensure its survival as it faces mounting competition at home and abroad.

'The improvement in performance was achieved on the back of higher domestic sales volume and profit margins, which continued to strengthen through better product mix,' Proton said in a statement.

'Domestic sales volume grew by 11 per cent compared to the immediate preceding quarter primarily driven by increased sales of the top three models, the Saga, Persona and Exora,' it added.

For the three months ended September 30, net profit was RM82.1 million (S$33.23 million) compared with RM43.8 million at the same period last year, the company said.

Revenue rose to RM2.10 billion from RM1.85 billion but the firm added: 'Given that the outlook for global vehicle demand is still uncertain, the group remains cautious.' Proton was formed 25 years ago as part of an ambitious national industrialisation plan, but its market share has slumped in recent years. -- AFP

Proton winning over Daihatsu sites

Proton is poised to announce 12 new dealer signings in the UK with the brand saying the majority are coming from Daihatsu's network.

According to Simon Park, Proton's general manager for sales and marketing, the brand has received a growing amount of interest from dealers representing Daihatsu.

New signings
"About 80 per cent of our new signings are Daihatsu dealers.

"We're a smaller franchise in terms of requirements but we have a slightly broader range of cars and are placed at the right end of the value market," he said.

Sales fall
Daihatsu has seen its UK sales plummet by over half (52 per cent) this year to 2,187.

Proton's decline has been less severe with year to date sales down by 38 per cent to 846 units.

Park said the cost of entering the franchise is just £2,000 which has generated renewed interest in the brand, especially from non-franchised dealers.

2010 Proton Persona facelift sighted on test!

Drex Chan sent in these great photos of what appears to be the Proton Persona facelift that’s due next year. The Persona was first launched in 2007, so mid next year would be about the right time for a facelift if you follow a 5 year model lifecycle, though most of us probably feel like a replacement is due since the Persona is actually a GEN2 sedan, and the GEN2 has been around a long time.




The front bumper is derived from the GEN2 CPS. The rear end shows tail lamps that have been taped up to hide an updated design. It looks like Proton has incorporated the use of LED lighting in the updated Persona’s tail lamps.



Two more details – firstly the wing mirrors also appear to be taped up. The tape hides the use of turn signal indicators integrated in the wing mirrors. Secondly, in the engine bay we can see that the engine uses coil on plug ignition, which means it is a Campro IAFM engine. This means that Proton is continuing with the separation of the Campro into two different versions – the IAFM engine as an economy-skewed engine while the CPS engine is more for power. They should really just have one powerful and fuel efficient engine for the 1.6 liter size – I’m sure it will be better for economies of scale.

There are a few more photos that you can view at drexchan’s fotopic page. UPDATE: Drex has sent in the pix on his fotopic page to be hosted here instead, as his fotopic page has ran out of bandwidth. According to Drex, the test engineers informed him that the IAFM engine would get an improved ECU. Look after the jump for the rest of the pix.

CUSTOM MODIFIED PROTON SATRIA NEO CONCEPT PICTURES

Proton Satria Neo is one of the sportiest car in Malaysia made by our own national car maker, Proton as a two doors compact sports car. The Satria Neo has its own identity and has a really beautiful design of exterior that makes Malaysian youngsters crazy about this gorgeous car. Especially about its powerful latest campro CPS engine fitted in this Satria Neo that push the performance of this sports car to the maximum.

Here we would like to share some of the image rendering of modified Proton Satria Neo photoshoped version with various type of neo bodykit.

Picture of modified Satria Neo above is base on the Subaru Chargespeed bumper design with intercooler.. Custom hood for neo with air intake hole. So cool and fierce looking sports car.

Proton Wira 1.5GL – 2005, Gold Colour, Auto, Accident Free

Proton Wira 1.5GL (A)
Year 2005,Register 01/12/2005
Gold Colour, Accident Free,
Original Spec, Good Condition.

Car Price RM24,300.00
FULL LOAN, RM0′ DOWN PAYMENT

USED CAR DEALER
(Sebelah Masjid Al-Azim, Pandan Indah)
Open :Monday to Saturday

* Make: Proton
* Year: 2,005
* Type of car: 4-door
* Condition: Used
012-3052186 / 012-2457063

Proton Impreza

This is the Subaru Impreza.


A performance car built by Subaru, looks ok but can go from 0 - 100km/h in 5 seconds.

This is Proton Saga.

An entry level sedan built by Proton, looks is also ok but can go from 0 - 100km/h in a million years.

However, someone in Malaysia decided to "transform" the Proton Saga into a performance machine by "upgrading" their front bumper, so that they can go as fast as the Subaru Impreza.



The new Impreza lookalike front bumper that can make your car go fast! Don't play play.

Yeah right...

Now the car looks fucking ugly and goes even slower with the added front bumper weight.

I wonder, what's wrong with an original looks of a Proton Saga?

If you buy a car, be proud of your own car, not transforming your car into another car so that you can let other people "think" that you have a another better car.

Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 off to Scotland!

he Proton R3 Malaysia Rally Team’s Satria Neo Super 2000 was making decent progress at the Rally of China last weekend when it had the unfortune of a damaged suspension, forcing the team to retire half-way through the 2nd leg during the 13th stage. They managed to finish 4th overall in the first leg. Interestingly according to Proton over half the field of competitors had to retire due to similiar problems.

With the China Rally over and done with, Alister McRae and the Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 will continue on to the McRae homeland of Scotland, which Alister is really looking forward to. Look after the jump for some shots from the rally.

PROTON R3 RALLY TEAM FINISHES LEG 1 OF RALLY CHINA IN 4TH OVERALL

Saturday 14th November 2009, Longyou, China. Alister McRae put in an inspired drive for the Proton R3 Rally Team to finish 4th overall in Leg 1 of the rally today against stiff competition both from the Asia Pacific Rally and China National Rally Championship teams. Cody Crocker, 4 time Asia Pacific Rally Champion is leading with former British Rally Champion David Higgins in 2nd and former Australian Rally Champion Dean Herridge in 3rd.

The Rally of China has again lived up to its reputation as being one of the toughest rallies in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship with the tough conditions taking a large toll as 28 out of 81 competitors failed to finish the day’s stages. The tight and twisty stages in the mountainous region of Longyou County leaves little room for error although fine weather today has greatly improved stage conditions throughout.



Leg2 of the Rally of China will now move to the north of Longyou County with 99km of special stages.

Proton Wira 1.8 (mt) GSR Turbo for sale

Price - RM: 16000
Condition: Used - Good Condition









Hi.. I have a Proton Wira 1.8 (mt) GSR Turbo for sale/swap +RM. The engine endorsed by jpj already. Come with lancer dashboard,pioneer cd player,momo race,15" pcd 114 sportrims,gsr absorber and bucket seat. Can swap with any NA car plus topup with some money. Location at seri kembangan. Interested can call me at 0162065960. URGENT sale

Dr M defends protection for Proton

(Malaysian Mirror) - Dr Mahathir Mohamad has come out in defence of the protectionist policies accorded to national automaker Proton, saying the government was emulating other vehicle manufacturing countries.

"I am not going to deny that in my time Proton was protected ... The protection for Proton cars had been there all along," said Mahathir in his blog.

"Britain had Imperial Preference, Japan and Korea ensured no foreign cars could be imported, even America insists on Japanese, Korean and Germans producing their cars in America, employing Americans and paying high salaries," he added.

mahathir-9.jpgMahathir also said that without such policies, Malaysia would not have a car industry, admitting that Proton had gained 80 percent market share "benefitting from protectionism."

He also defended the import system of Approved Permits (APs), saying Proton would not have been able to penetrate foreign markets due to the economies of scale: "Proton lost money, the foreigners made a lot of money with the lower price of their cars sold in Malaysia. Their lower price is due to volume. We could not achieve this because of their protected car market."

Not involved in NAP

"Now Proton is fighting back despite imports of foreign cars. I was making a comparison only between Proton under the previous management and the present management. The present management is definitely more capable even though foreign cars are still coming in," he added.

Mahathir also said he was not involved in the formation of the new National Automotive Policy: "I am not in the government now. Please make your complaints to the government."

Mahathir was responding to a commentator who blamed protectionist policies for Proton's stagnating performance.

"Many thanks to NAP and Proton, Malaysian are forced to buy overpriced Tin Milo Proton," said the blogger who went under the pseudonym Syahrizan.
"This is no longer about “National Car Protection”, its all about protecting your cronies! Am I right Tun?" added the blogger.