Petronas E01 engine to be built in China

In Cars, China, International News / by /

Petronas has reached an agreement with two Chinese automotive companies to jointly manufacture the Petronas E01 engine for commercial use, after a Letter of Intent was signed between the three parties back in September 2005.

The inline-4 16-valve DOHC engine with variable valve timing which can be configured in three displacements – 1.8, 2.0 and 2.2 litres – was developed with Petronas’ experience in Formula 1, and is expected to begin production in December 2006 with an annual production capacity of 100,000 units a year.

The two Chinese companies are Nanjing Automobile Corporation and Brilliant Culture Group. The former is an automotive manufacturer while the latter is a consulting group.

Source

Related Posts:
Nanjing Automobile to use Petronas E01 engines?
The Petronas E01

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • AI-generated Summary ✨

    Comments express disappointment that Petronas's E01 engine, developed with international collaboration, was sold to China instead of being used by local Malaysian brands like Proton. Some praise the engine's technical potential and quality, but others criticize its high cost, practicality, and the fact that it is now manufactured in China. There is concern about the lack of domestic utilization and the loss of valuable Malaysian technology, with hopes that future collaborations could boost local industry and innovation. Sentiments range from pride to skepticism about China-built quality.

  • Tracks (Member) on Nov 01, 2006 at 11:42 pm

    I sincerely wish Petronas all the best in the new business opportunity.

    Long ago, there was an impression that the E01 was to be used by Proton, instead Proton went ahead with the development of the Campro. If Proton had worked closely with Petronas, perhaps then it could have developed a cheaper and better engine than what it is offering today. Of course, I noted that the E01 has a different displacement from 1.8L to 2.2L compared to the Campro 1.3L to 1.6L. However with the development that they have done so far on the E01, I am pretty sure that developing a 1.3L to 1.6L, probably codename E02 perhaps, would not be that difficult with the experience gained from the first engine.

    All the best to Petronas.

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  • bpkid (Member) on Nov 01, 2006 at 11:49 pm

    well, congrats 2 proton for their latest achievement. but i am absolutely surprise that in the end, it is not our local car makers who buy and use the E01 engine. i'm very upset after all. :(

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  • protonGL (Member) on Nov 01, 2006 at 11:58 pm

    PIECE OF ART

    one of the most beautiful engine ive ever seen.

    dump it in protons, its like turning the world around.

    got a special feeling like the COSWORTH or so…………..

    (will they come back to the home country??)

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  • lowprofile (Member) on Nov 01, 2006 at 11:58 pm

    pride. it all boils down to pride. we are just too proud to use things that others have made, that could be much better than what we could have ever achieved. remember, "pride comes before the fall". time to eat humble pie to restore the car market?

    congrats to petronas.

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  • haroldz (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 12:10 am

    Way to go petronas!!

    But how good is the EO1 engine?

    This is wot Proton should do by now.

    Create JV in chinese carmaker n outsource d campro engine.

    It will cut production costs.

    Production plant in Msia can also be outsource to foreign carmakers.

    Meaning Proton will assemble foreign car models in their plant.

    Proton can produce cheaper cars and at the same time gain from technology transfer from their foreign partners.

    Petronas with their F1 connection will make a quality car than proton.

    2010 Petronas will take over proton and merge their F1 technology n campro 2 create better engine…

    Nah,just bluffing la macha!

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  • maibatsu_thunder (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 12:22 am

    I heard this engine was very expensive to build – RM45,000 per engine (cost). However, if Nanjing can produce at a competitive price, so much the better.

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  • rexis (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 12:41 am

    Its very interesting to have an oil company logo printed on an engine. No?

    Congrats to petronas.

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  • normal_user (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 1:21 am

    Hmm I dont think Nanjing will ever emboss/put the Petronas logo on the engine. Licensing doesnt mean branding. Like what Sauber F1 did on its Ferrari F1 V10 sourced/powered engine (3-4 years back then). The engine was labeled as Petronas V10 instead of Ferrari's. The Lotus Elise engine also doesn't show Toyota badge on it.

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  • normal_user (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 1:23 am

    oops the Sauber Petronas F1 engine was V12 instead of V10.

    Anyway, I'm very upset with this development.

    Does this means that Petronas gave the sole right to manufacture the EO1 high performance engine to foreigners? If it is, then its disaster for Malaysia. If the Chinese cars with the engines are successful worldwide, surely the chinese E01 engine-sourced cars will make waves here. And guess, we have again to pay lofty taxes just to drive a car which engine is designed by our own countrymen (Sauber F1 team should be given credit also).

    Imagine Nanjing's Rover 75-based cars planted with the E01 engines. Good strategy from the Chinese to replace the old K-series engines in Rover based cars. The chassis of the Rover 75 is already good, and I'm sure they plan to redesigned the car and produce them in mass to be exported to the Europe & US.

    Too bad for Proton. I heard that Petronas asked for a fee for the technology which Proton felt is too high. But don't they realize that its an expenditure worth investing for. I just can't understand why a government owned/linked companies can't cooperate for mutual benefits of the people and themselves. Tun M were the advisors for both companies, does Petronas decision has to do something with him?

    Just to share my thought.

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  • REDDEVIL (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 1:26 am

    proton & petronas should work hand in hand to produce a better engine and better quality cars… good luck to petronas..

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  • osh_kosh (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 1:29 am

    I doubt that the chinese will print petronas logo on their car engine.. but however, congrats to petronas 4 securing the deal.. i too wonder why they not use it in proton's cars… i believe there r strong reasons for that.. but can't stop thinking that why not co-operate with each other..

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  • protonGL (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 1:51 am

    i heard proton did cast their own engine (CAMPRO), was it too hard to tranfer the technology aquired by the PETRONAS (F1 tech) to the campro, for its ECU and VARIABLE thingy AT LEAST, and change that plastic cover to BLACK and GREEN for a cosmetic,

    put PETRONAS name to credit it.???

    i belive people go CRAZY to have one….(oversea as well…)

    cmon be mature …………………..!

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  • freeze (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 2:27 am

    Give proton also no use, where they going to put in? Chancellor? Perdana? How many of these cars they sell a month? No use.

    Who else? Perodua? Myvi 1.8? Naza? Inokom?

    Malaysians don't want it, so have to sell elsewhere.

    So what kind of engine design is this? European or Japanese? or Malaysian?

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  • ilmondo (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 2:29 am

    all d best and goodluck! show tat malaysia boleh! we hav faith in u!

    malaysia boleh!

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  • DAN (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 2:32 am

    this govt is work hard to loosing a value of our countryman TeX money from us , whit a product that cant bring benefit to Malaysians n come out a thing that sale out to us again. make no point to Malaysian .

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  • cyder300 (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 2:51 am

    Is it better than the campro?….. I think so, it has VVT to boot which the o'campro do not have. Too bad, Proton could have saved costs and boost that the engine have F1 technology. Cheers!

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  • J (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 3:02 am

    beautiful engine ! I like the green covers. Congrats !

    so these engine will be produced in China and re-import back (duty free) to Msia for Proton/local makes perhaps ?

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  • xXx (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 3:24 am

    hmm…malaysian expertise and chinese built quality…

    what can go wrong?

    hmm…hmm…

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  • mystvearn (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 3:28 am

    I knew it there was going to be flaming of p1 in this. BTW its really kera di hutan disusukan, anak dirumah ditinggalkan, but in this case I'm not sure if the anak is really that valueble than the kera.

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  • happymeal (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 3:33 am

    with those 2 huge-as$ circular moulds on the belt side of the engine, it looks like its a Dual VTC rather than single !!! not many engines, especially 4 cyl have dual VTC… latest would be the 140bhp corrolla engine.

    cast intake manifold… unlike the chrome 1 that was showcased in the prototype and GP wajas.

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  • gmtgoh (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 4:36 am

    engine talk no used la! Malaysian give u all 1.8 2.0 2.2 engine also not use cant utilise at all !!!!!!!!!!! How fast you can go??? 110km/h only ma!PLs la!

    Paul can get some news for Perodua KENARI RS??????heard price at RM 45k only!

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  • drM (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 4:36 am

    one more GOLD down the drain…we let MV Agusta left for nothing and then, we have this…

    imagine Proton to have PRM (putra replacement model) with this monstrous engine..poofff! eat M3 for breakfast, gone celica for lunch!

    seriously, Petronas should consider venturing into designing our very own SUPERCAR since they got all the technology, all they need now is one bloke to do the imaginary things…(designer lah!)

    forget all those who like Petronas to stick to producing oils blah blah blah… if you got the loads and expertise, go for it! FORZA PETRONAS!

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  • Paul Tan on Nov 02, 2006 at 4:50 am

    lol, i've been sitting on the kenari rs news and photos for 2 weeks now. ill post it up tonight.

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  • protonGL (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 5:12 am

    good tought drM,………..SALUTE.

    other than that, can PROTON really survive, ………?

    if u care what mystvearn said, it almost batter to kill it.

    any constructive idea datok?, im a fan of PROTON.

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  • DG (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 5:46 am

    nice one……. too bad for potong…..SOB SOB….whakakaka

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  • siacw (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 5:49 am

    paul, any technical spec of this engine?

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  • offroader manix (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 5:56 am

    I am truly surprise WHY ! China………they are truly good in imitation and can copy everything in the world which other country produce at 1/2 the costs.

    You guys will see another engine but made by ABC company courtesy of Petronas.

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  • drM (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 7:54 am

    The problem with Proton is that the QC is very bad. you guys should know better on this. Here come our own SUPERCAR by Petronas.

    Maybe Petronas can built it in small numbers. We already know the engine is very good, very reliability, and fantastic. So, the only thing we would like to know is the design..so, dont throw us another hideous MC12 or the John Lennon spectacled Zonda.

    Or Petronas can built it on the order basis. There are lots of rich sons of rich people in Malaysia and money would not be a problem if the built and the goods are there..

    As for ProtonGL, continue supporting Proton. Maybe your grand sons will be able to buy one decent built Proton. afterall, Rome wasn't build in one day…

    hahahahahahahhaahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahhaahahahahaahhha

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  • protonGL (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 8:15 am

    HUGE investment with MV augusta ————-then SOLD

    HUGE investment with F1 tech.(PETRONAS)——-then SOLD

    HUGE investment proton plant—————almost SOLD to vw.(early sign)

    automotive industry is NOT VIABLE here!

    making car is a wrong move in a first place.

    more, tutup kedai when afta 100%

    should move to rebadging business to get the name circulate.(buy the car with PETRONAS engine in it)

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  • protonGL (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 8:27 am

    NO heart feeling , you gus WIN!!

    PETRONAS got reputation already, should concentrate in specialized sector=in sport car , BRILLIANT

    salute drM.

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  • Joe Cole (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 10:59 am

    nice engine..cun…bentuk lawa sure laju…

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  • freeze (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 11:08 am

    Petronas should design a car as well.

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  • Driven2020 (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 4:58 pm

    It is a good thing that this powerhouse was developed in house. Spec'd within the K20A region, this type of engine I doubt will be available on normal cars but for performance cars instead meaning bad bad mileage.

    On times like this we should be looking for good mileage and cost effective cars. Sad to say that though the engine can be something that we can be proud of, but may not be practical for our everyday uses.

    If the engine came with the lower displacement version i.e 1.6L with detuned settings for better mileage and revised engine cost, there could be some glimmer of hope for it.

    Maybe Petronas is moving into the Cosworth path i.e. provide high performance engines to whomever needs it for racing.

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  • whatsoever (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 5:37 pm

    i think is too early to make conclusion that this engine is a good and reliable engine.

    before it's really on the road, no one can give a comment that it's better than campro even how worst the campro.

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  • shaif (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 5:47 pm

    I think if Petronas brain and proton brain being work hand in hand, they can design the engines according to consumer needs. It just that sometime, the top management have some pride and ego and they willing to sacrifice the national interest. Perhaps proton don't want this engine because of its high production cost. Who knows, Tun should know about this.

    Anyway congrats for Petronas as this will bring more revenues to the country, and at least their hundred millions of their involvement in F1 prove to create a synergy for them.

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 6:32 pm

    i just hope they can pull of this deal, as those engines are currently only in the prototype stage. hence the need to continue R&D for another 2 years with a target launch of 2009. they're probably looking at a lot more work, and some millions before the project is realised.

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  • pheonix_comet (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 7:54 pm

    one of the reason i think why malaysia will not want to use too powerful engine is that in malaysia, the accident death rate is still very high. and our national car standard of safety is still a question.

    if u all have read info on gen2 at wikipedia.org it stated that some parts of gen2 is still at R&D, something about the intake maniflow and the variable control.

    that's why i'm still doubt about the current campro engine.

    but of course i wish that this cool engine will be used at our national car.

    this dragon of malaysia should wake up from the dream and rule with E01e

    cheers

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Nov 02, 2006 at 8:33 pm

    bro, power of engine, and speed, is not entirely responsible for accidents or the high mortality rate. the old term "speed kills" should not apply anymore on todays roads, as it does not take into account driver training, safety features, road conditions..etc.

    as for the gen2, its one thing to comment, but its another to post up info thats not true, or innacurate. if you read what wikipedia said (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campro_engine), proton are currently doing R&D on a Variable intake system for the campro engine. This is not in the current campro engines. This is an improvement, and its common for car companies to constantly improve on their products throughout the lifespan of the company.

    anyways.. i think most people as usual, have jumped the gun on the EO1. no doubt the base idea, and technology has been realised by the prototype engines that can make 200hp.. by the time they have completed their mass manufacturing studies, and final designs, they engines will DEFINITELY not make 200hp, or even close to that.

    I dont think petronas, with no experience with production engines, together with a relatively new and unknown china car company can do it anyways.

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  • offroader manix (Member) on Nov 03, 2006 at 12:55 am

    MAde in China…..stuff is always a taboo by buyers around the world.

    Especially in engineering for the industry…..those motor and gearbox….all damn cheap but not one lasts. The motorbike already so much issues in M'sia.

    Petronas partner China……….There's no selling point. The engine is nothing wonderful. Most people can comes up something like this. End of the day…..another white elephant project who benefit those individuals who is involved; the country and petronas will not benefit from it definitely.

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  • Joe v2.0 (Member) on Nov 03, 2006 at 1:48 am

    This engine was develop during the end of 90's, much2 matured than the campro it self. But as for me, this was a diff segment of engine. While campro was design for 1.3-1.6 segment, the E01 was developed for 1.8 and up to 2.2l segment.

    To see the market now, with the proton lineup now there's no suitable body to fit the e01 except for waja or perdana or even maybe any Gti's line up, if there's any. Now adays, most malaysian are seeking smaller engine capacity cars for fuel saving, as we can see today recently, perodua has beat proton's sales. But for future product such as, perdana replament model, or any SUv, MPV or even if proton wanna come up with new Gti lineup , they surely need this E01 segment of engine.

    As for me they should adopt the tech if not acquire the e01 engine, especially the vvt part to be implement on their 1.3-1.6 engine segment earlier and maybe today have matured its tech. But theres maybe some messed up with both petronas and proton top mgt back then until the engine was not used(at least for perdana or waja 1.8-using renault engine) until 10 years it was developed. Just wait and see la.. what else..

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  • assimo (Member) on Nov 03, 2006 at 11:06 pm

    From the engine specs,nothing special on it,no new advance hightech system can be proud…but at least its better than proton engine perhaps…err..how come petrolium company do engine better than car manufacturer…ehh…eheh:-)

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  • chrisbangle (Member) on Nov 04, 2006 at 7:01 am

    This is not a new engine. It was benchmarked against a few engines, and it was rated the best when it was revealed.

    Petronas decided that it should venture out to do other things and Powertrain is one of its corporate choices. They had invested a lot and one of their targets was to use it in Proton, which they owned briefly before somebody thought he could do a better job.

    If you remembered the chronology of the events, Proton quickly announced its SENG (small engine) project when Petronas pulled the ocver off this engine. The fact is, the SENG project was still in its infancy when they announced it.

    Unlike SENG (which later became the CAMPRO), the E01 was designed from scratch. The project was a joint collaboration between local Petronas engineers, Sauber, Yamaha and Ferrari. The prototype versions were using all-alluminium block, created from the same factory that manufactured the blocks for the M5.

    Of course critics commented that the EO1 engines were too expensive, but Petronas claimed it would come out with a step-down version for production.

    Being a large O&G corporation, Petronas was willing to spread the R&D cost over a long period of time, so that the engine could be mass produced for local market.

    When Proton was taken away from its hands, the engine suddenly became "useless". Petronas tried to sell it to many parties (including the Koreans) and finally found its buyer in China.

    Petronas is "wasting" a lot of money in automotive works. Their FP1 is another good example. The company has proven that it has the ability to come out with good products, but without a proper "finishing", the projects remain to be its training exercises for its engineers.

    Proton's new management has recently agreed to work hand in hand with Petronas, which promises a good future for both companies, especially Proton. It is just that Proton's team needs to be more cooperative while Petronas must quickly learn to adapt its R&D to real-world situations.

    So far, Petronas has better branding than PRoton, globally. Unlike Perodua which is basically owned by Toyota, Proton desperately needs a good and strong partner.

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  • topgunthang (Member) on Nov 04, 2006 at 11:13 pm

    petronas is a bad company to do business for and with. if u have dealt with them before.

    i hope both petronas and the china company go kaput.

    good luck manufacture in china, in 1 year time they wont need you anymore. can ctrlC and ctrlV already.

    as for another comment made. its was not a wrong move to manufacture cars here in msia, just the wrong move of manufacturing proton cars only.

    anyway, lets see what this engine can do. just dont pin high hopes on it. much like the campro or the new lotus. grand tourer. grand tourer for hobbits maybe

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  • Romaunt (Member) on Nov 05, 2006 at 7:39 am

    Damn u proton..

    couldve feed us malaysian with better engine such as this..

    on paper this engine is better than K20..

    i dont mind paying extra 10k for a proton with this engine..

    most probably it will be detune in production model for reliability, but i am pretty sure still a lot more horses than current offering..

    still, what a loss, we are left with shitty engine..

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  • chrisbangle (Member) on Nov 05, 2006 at 9:16 am

    topgunthang…the Lotus grand tourer, or the APX is a prototype, to show that you can build a car on its versatile platform system. As a prototype, no proper packaging design is needed. Have you seen some of the protytpes made by other car companies?

    I guess there is no point of me arguing with you because whatever Malaysian products will be bad in your eyes. And yes, I have dealt very much with Petronas, be it their holding company, Dagangan or Carigali.

    The Campro to me is a good engine, as it is their first effort. If you really know about cars, I am sure you know how the first Hyundai engine feels. But then again, Hyundai didnt have Lotus back then.

    As for the E01 engine, I reserve my comments as I haven't tried the production version of it (which none of us will ever get the chance anyway). i drove a few cars with the prototype engine and the most exciting part about it is its intake roar and exhaust note. At high revs, it sounds better than a iVTEC engine.

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  • szw (Member) on Nov 06, 2006 at 3:23 am

    wasted !

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