Proton Packs More Performance in the New Satria Neo CPS

PROTON today unveiled an improved and sportier Satria Neo hatchback fitted with a Campro CPS (Cam Profile Switching) engine, which promises enhanced performance and style. This new variant (2nd Generation Satria) is now powered by a Campro CPS DOHC 16V engine which packs more power and offers better responsiveness for drivers desiring performance.

The Satria Neo, introduced in 2006, has won many hearts both locally and internationally and has been given accolades such as the “coolest” car to be produced by PROTON.

“The Satria Neo is known as a performance-driven car. What we have done is to enhance the Neo by making it more powerful, responsive and attractive by giving it an improved engine and a sportier look," said PROTON Holdings Berhad Managing Director, Dato' Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir during the launch held today at the Asian Pacific Auction Centre in Subang.

This new Satria Neo CPS will run the latest engine in the Proton line-up, the 1.6 litre Campro CPS. This engine utilizes two ingenious technologies, CPS (Cam Profile Switching) and VIM (Variable Intake Manifold technology), to give higher power outputs and rapid response, whilst maintaining a fuel efficient delivery. These two technologies give the best of both worlds by combining the characteristics of two different engines in one compact package. The usual reduction in torque caused by high-lift cams is offset by the long intake runner, whilst the short runner works by helping the engine generate more power at higher speeds. All this technology translates to 120PS at 6,500 rpm, and 150Nm at 4500 rpm, giving the Satria Neo CPS, one of the most powerful engines in its segment. This power increase doesn’t come at the expense of the environment as this new engine meets the latest European emission regulations.

On the inside, the Satria Neo CPS features a Lotus Motorsport inspired minimalist Interior Design now enhanced with a sporty red and black leather upholstery and door inserts. The interior finishing is further enhanced by a new leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob.

The built-in dash mounted Blaupunkt CD Radio player can also handle MP3 music, which is perfect for entertaining the driver and passengers played through a 4 speaker stereo system.

The high performance nature of this vehicle continues on the outside with a newly designed front bumper that gives the Neo a lower and more aggressive stance. Inside those Gti inspired flared arches sit low profile continental tyres on new 16” rims specially designed for the Satria
Neo CPS.

Like its famous predecessor, the Satria Gti, the Satria Neo CPS proudly features that now familiar Lotus tuned ride and handling package that makes for an exciting yet safe drive for the driving enthusiast. All round disc brakes with ABS(Anti-lock Braking System) and EBD(Electronic Brake Distribution) ensure all that performance can be reined in safely when the need arises. Twin airbags and front seat belt pre-tensioners are also standard with a 3 way collapsible steering column providing greater occupant safety. Everything is packaged within a sturdy body with liberal use of high-tensile steel for increase body rigidity and structural
crashworthiness. The Satria Neo CPS meets all European Safety standards.

The Satria Neo CPS is yet another product that underscores PROTON’s commitment to continuously deliver the right car at the right time and at the right price. The car is suitable for customers who are trendy and yearn to be different as well as those who lead an active lifestyle.
“This philosophy requires PROTON to listen closely to what customers want and continuously make every effort to change and improve our current line-up. This effort is now manifested in the new Satria Neo CPS,” continued Dato’ Syed Zainal. [Read more!]

New Proton SATRIA NEO - Review and Photos

The Campro CPS engine is finally in the Proton Satria Neo, something that many have been eagerly waiting for. The CPS is essentially a Campro engine with a few updates and a variable valve lift system called CPS as well as a variable intake manifold (VIM) system. These additions help push up power to 125 PS at 6,500rpm and 150Nm of torque at 4,500rpm, figures which are up from the standard Campro’s 110hp and 148Nm.

The car’s front and rear track has also been updated. While the Proton Satria Neo had a front and rear track of 1,470mm for both, the Satria Neo CPS H-Line has a narrower front track at 1,467mm and a wider rear track 1,483mm.
We didn’t managed to get hold of a Proton engineer to ask this question but we did manage to ask a member of Proton’s Race Rally Research (R3) team who said the change was made because Proton found the standard Neo suffered from slight oversteer, so this change was made to induce a slight understeer to improve handling. Anyway either way as a result of the large wheel arches, the wheels looks kind of lost inside them at certain angles.

As for aesthetics, as you can see there’s a new bodykit and more prominent flared wheel arches that are inspired from the old Satria GTI’s design. The alloy wheels are of the same 16 inch size as the M-Line but feature a different design that looks like a carbon copy of Advanti Racing’s MEDUSA design but without the two-tone design - perhaps it’s licensed or “inspired”. On the interior, the dashboard is now of a darker shade with red lighting on the various air conditioning controls and auto gear position indicators, has a different door trim design, some new trim around the gear shifter area, and leather seats in a black and red combination similiar to the GEN2 CPS.

The following are the prices for the new Proton Satria Neo CPS, available in only two colours which are unique to the CPS - solid white and tranquility black.

CPS is only available for the high line model, so the lite and M-line models retain the regular Campro. Unfortunately this is the old original Campro engine, without the new IAFM systems in the Saga, Persona and GEN2. The CPS system has also been tweaked with this version of the Campro engine, so the high lift cam profile activation point has been revised. However I’m not sure what is the purpose of activating it later.

VIM switches between a long intake manifold at low RPMs and a short intake manifold at higher RPMs. According to Proton, a longer intake manifold is used at low RPMs to achieve slower air flow; this promotes better mixing with fuel. The short intake manifold allows more air in faster. This is beneficial at high RPMs. The CPS system uses a switching tappet and a trilobe camshaft to switch between two different cam profiles, one with low valve lift and another with high valve lift.

[Read more!]

Proton first MPV 2009 - Spy Photos

2009 Proton MPV
It’s the new year for 2009, and seems like local car manufacturer, Proton has started their development for a new market, the MPV segment.

The photos below reveal what seems like the upcoming new MPV car from Proton, which share almost the same exterior with Taiwanese Luxgen MPV.

The new Proton MPV are rumored to be equiped with a 1.6 CamPro engine, with the price range of not exceding RM75,000, excluding road tax and insurance. This will be fitted with 15″ rim as standard, with either manual and auto transmission.

Looking at a Toyota Avanza 1.5 (A) selling at RM 75,600, Proton needs to set a competitive pricing to compete with existing MPV manufacturers.

The speed cluster looks futuristic and sporty with its red colour background.

Center console looks pretty standard with minimum buttons. Radio player comes with red/orange theme which complements the speed cluster very well.

Steering has a strong Honda Civic design in it, and volume up/down, track fwd/rwd button are well within reach. A phone button were spotted also, this might suggest the car comes with bluetooth support?

Overall this car comes with a sporty look in terms of exterior and interior, until we have more pictures and the specs, we will be able to give you a better coverage on this.

Source : MaxSpeed.us
2009 Proton MPV [Read more!]

Proton Gen.2 To Be Assembled In Iran

TEHRAN, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- Proton Holdings Bhd's Gen.2 model will be assembled in Iran from April 2009 in a deal with a local partner.

Proton and Zagross Khodro inked an agreement here Tuesday for the supply of automotive parts that allows the latter to assemble the Gen.2 through a completely-knocked-down (CKD) arrangement at its assembly plant in Borujerd city, southwest of Iran.

The signing was witnessed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is on a four-day official visit to Iran.

Currently, Proton is exporting completely-built-up (CBU) Gen.2 to this country of over 70 million people.

This is the third of a series of agreements aimed at enabling Zagross, Proton's sole distributor in Iran, to assemble the Gen.2.

Signing the dotted line for Proton was its managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir while Zagross was represented by its managing director, Siroos Gholami.

Also present were Proton chairman Datuk Mohammed Azlan Hashim and Zagross chairman Dariush Gholami.

The previous two agreements were on licensing and technical assistance and purchase of equipment.

"This agreement signifies Proton's continued commitment to the vast Iranian market and is part of its overall export market strategy," said Mohammed Azlan.

He also disclosed that Proton, Malaysia's first car manufacturer, would open an office in Iran in March 2009.

With the CKD operation in Iran, Proton will be able to price its cars more competitively in the local market and more importantly improve on its after-sales service in the country, the company said in a statement.

The collaboration between Proton and Zagross began in 2001 when the latter became the sole assembler and distributor of the Proton Wira in this Islamic republic.

Zagross had previously imported CBU units of Proton cars into Iran, a market viewed as a potential for Proton in view of its large population.

Established in 1996, Zagross is the largest private automotive company in Iran with the capability of selling 50,000 cars a year.

Source : BERNAMA [Read more!]

Proton PERDANA Replacement Model (PRM)

Words are spreading around about the new Perdana replacement model. Most likely the new perdana will be based on the Australian made Mitsubishi 380.

The mitsubishi 380 based perdana will be most likely to be a replacement to the current Perdana which is based on the Mitsubishi Eterna. However the Mitsubishi 380,as the name implies, uses a 3.8 liter v6 engine. This is a big no no for malaysian market. With fuel prices shooting up like rockets, it is most likely to be replaced with a smaller engine.

The current perdana uses a 6a12 v6 engine from mitsubishi which produces around 150hp which is suitable for platform which weight only 1300kg. But this engine is not suitable for the new perdana as it weight over 1600kg. Expect a 2.2 or 2.4 with at least 160hp engine to be fitted on this 380 based platform.

However this new model can be quite dissapointing for proton fans as proton start to do rebadging again despite of the few successful,proton made model such as the gen 2,satria neo,persona and the new blm.

Whatever it is,lets cross our finger and hope to see an outstanding new perdana which can outperform most of its competitor such as the Mitsubishi Lancer GT and Honda Civic.

Source : Kereta.info
[Read more!]

Proton launches Persona in Middle East

Proton has launched its Persona into the Middle Eastern market - the model was launched both in Saudi Arabia on Nov 22 and Egypt on Nov 24. The Gen2 model was also launched in Egypt. This will be followed by a series of launches in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Syria market over the next two months.

Proton entered the Saudi market in 2006 when it introduced the Waja model via a smart partnership collaboration with local outfit Al Rashed Al Thunayan Auto Co.

As for Egypt, the company first launched the Waja and Wira models in 2001 and in 2006 brought in the Gen.2 hatchback, with Alpha Ezz Elarab Co being its distributor in the country.

Article and image source : star-motoring.com [Read more!]

New Proton MPV Coming Soon

New Proton MPV

The first production batch of the new multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) by Proton Holdings Bhd is set to roll out of the factory on Sept. 12, said managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir yesterday evening at an analysts' briefing.

The first units of the MPV would be used for safety testing and road durability for certification purposes ahead of the model's scheduled launch in March next year.

While the exact specifications have yet to be disclosed, it is understood that Proton is aiming to price its latest model around the RM75,000 range, excluding accessories, road tax and insurance.

The chassis for the MPV is a new platform that would be used for variants to be developed over the next few years but the engine will be the 1.6-litre CamPro that is currently fitted into the Gen-2 models. The seven-seater will have 15-inch tyres as a standard fit, with either automatic or manual transmissions.

The public would be invited to submit possible names for the MPV in a contest that Proton intends to launch next month. During testing over the next few months, alert members of the public could probably spot the new MPV being driven on the roads around the country.

On other models, Syed Zainal said the new Saga has become the fastest selling Proton model ever, chalking up over 80,000 bookings since its official launch in January this year.

He admitted that the overwhelming response has caused some delays in deliveries, with only some 40,000 cars registered so far. However, Proton has ramped up its production lines to output 7,500 cars from next month compared to 4,500 units originally produced on a monthly basis.

On the Persona model launched last August, he said that over 55,000 units had been booked so far.

Looking forward, Syed Zainal said that Proton would be looking to develop a CamPro turbo engine and also a diesel engine by next year to provide more alternatives to customers.
With this range of model options, Proton aims to boost its exports such that about 70 per cent of its revenue would come from overseas sales by 2016.

New Proton MPV

[Read more!]