Autocar UK is the first with a photo of Proton’s new concept car designed by Italian design house Italdesign-Giugiaro. The vehicle looks like a supermini with a tallish roofline, and according to Autocar it is about 3,350mm long – that’s a good 360mm shorter than the Proton Savvy. There is no attempt to look space age with ultra curvy rooflines that hurt rear passenger room – this is clearly a design that’s quite suited to go into production with some minor modifications.
The concept car will showcase a series hybrid powertrain that works much like the system that Chevrolet is using for the Volt. It uses an internal combustion engine fitted at the front that runs in an efficient powerband to recharge lithium ion batteries. These batteries then power and electric motor that drives the car. From what I can understand from the Autocar story, the internal combustion engine does not power the wheels directly. The car’s platform is a new platform that’s designed to accomodate all the necessary hybrid drive elements such as batteries in a space efficient and safe way.
Lotus had previously showcased such a system at the Frankfurt 2009 show so given Proton’s obvious connections to Lotus, the powertrain in this concept car might just be one and the same. Or it might not – we’ll have to wait for official details to find out. The Lotus Range Extender system uses a 1.2 litre 3-cylinder single cam 4 valves per cylinder engine that weighs only 56kg dry and is optimized for 2 RPM points – 20hp at 1,500rpm and 47hp at 3,500rpm. Peak torque is 107Nm at 2,500rpm.
Word is that Proton will be sending some journalists to Geneva because of this car. If Proton wants to maximize the value of the air tickets and accommodation for these journos, those lucky guys might even get to drive the car, if it is a running concept using the Lotus engine. That would definitely generate more buzz and get Proton more coverage in international publications.
As for us, we are still completely in the dark about this concept car other than whatever Autocar UK has revealed now, so we hope to bring you confirmed facts as soon as Proton says something, hopefully today!
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. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.
cool
If this is really true, then it is pretty okay.
WOW! COOLNESS! LETS HOPE THIS CONCEPT MAKE ITS WAY TO PRODUCTION LINE!
side profile sebijik cam savvy…..
Proton, please produce it & kill the overpriced Myvi!
the design of it is just ok… but the technology is something huge for Proton! kudos!
proton hv to move on to compete with others so they must hv this
wow it's so cool
gempak giler baby ar!!
Loves the wheels. Imagine that on new proton perdana/waja.
360mm shorter than savvy?? a bit cramped, i'd say..
you know what, I almost cried when see the design…it's about time proton have these kind of design..good luck!!
proton can be a major automotive player if this comes to reality…
2 thumbs up!!
nice..
kakkoii ne…
Hopefully this is only one of the concept cars that Proton is going to preview at 2010 Geneva Auto Show.
sorry… typing mistake…. I mean NOT ONLY ONE.. Hahaha… More please.
this is the concept car….
this is the car…
http://cdn.images.autocar.co.uk/91x60FFFFFFF/Car/…
i think this their ev project…i wonder….
Did proton ask you to remove the picture?
for once, subject to some lengthy caveat, I think I like this car!!! And it's a Proton!!!…
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/proton-concepts…
as it is in the same vein as the Mitsu MiEV or Peugeot iOn… should be great as an urban transport… with fuel subsidies slowly but surely will be phased out soon…. the hybrid design hv potential to be good alternative to the small modern diesel superminis…
but then again, even with nice designs there's no guarantee that it will WORK according to specs… so hope & pray for the best that it will turn out alright!!
i guess they are now heading to the right track,..way to go proton…and shame on those stuck up non believers
this concept car can be a success… so to Proton & all your vendors who may be involved in this project, please repeat after me:
"quality.. quality.. quality.. quality.. quality…"
that is all the customers want… and not e.g. nice looking but crap & cheap hard plastics that will fall off just as the car leave the showroom, malfunctioning electric motors… etc etc..
so don't mess this car up(!), it may be your last and only chance of survival…
Come on Proton, make this a reality! And try to get those damn vendors to play ball and improve their game!
weh proton, cepat la buat kete ni.
cantik dowh!
jgn simpan cm proton msx tu…huhu
anyway, kalu kete ni kuar, mmg aku tolak je myvi1.5 auto premium petrol yg kt umah ni.
pakai kete ni lg bagus utk city.
back to topic>>
i see the exterior as if it is a cub (or tiny tiger, or kitten if we may).
big window for good visibility.
nice hidden lines.
offtopic again>>
if savvy replacement is of this kind,
i wonder then how a persona replacement would look like?
RRROOOOAAARRR!
Yep, about time proton kicks off with modern technology, save fuel, save money too!
I personally would love to own one of these if it ever made it to the production line!
Make it happen, proton!
nice car..
hope the price tag also nice
but funny only 12 people reply to this thread…
it should be 300++ by noon
Please make this!
wheres the picture?
This is really nice design.
If this is true…. will be the best car from local.
Proton improved. Keep it up!
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/proton-concepts…
This is what we are all waiting for,
a new concept to redefine our national car…
say no to p2..
The front face of the concept car looks like transformers, nice.
Great design + New tech engine.
Just a perfect match.
All the best.
if this news is true,then well done for proton..
you are on the right track..
but 'm still eager to know how the waja rplcemnt will look like..
hope it will be another milestone for proton..
Love it! Can't wait to see New Persona pulak!
Proton is my dream car!!!
well I see everybody give gd support 4 this car…. so proton need to make sure the hope of mostly everybody in Malaysia not screwed up….
where's the photos.why i can't see the photo.must i go to autocar uk to see it
walauweh,damn cool la this design,but that side profile can be improve,btw,really love this design,hope proton can sell it maybe under 50k
nice car but gonna do major redesign for production (trust me on this). they gotta do more than this to become a major player. azlan should do more and we hope tdm could help to get a deal with foreign partner. anyway, since 2002 i keep saying that proton should hire in-house car designer.
This is just CONCEPT, the production line will be different than this !!!!!!!!!!!!
that Giugiaro guy design new waja also?
cross my finger that he does
what a fugly car………omg.
PS: Look like mat rempit version of savvy……..hehe
Hope that the power windows won't drop off during the show.
If the 360mm is taken off from front end, then it's ok.
I saw led turn signal with projector headlamp. I think the drag coefficient is superb as well. But that are ok, The best of all, hybrid tech to be introduced that is really something & very interesting.
heading the right direction…
go go proton.
common basher
The car looks great. Now put in a high tech engine (at least CPS please) and fine tuned transmission (at least 5 speed auto please) and you got a very competitive car, but price wise must on par with Perodua if not cheaper.
read first,concept car, not production car, so no power window. got it.
usually concept design wont look the same when real production rolls out. i wont say proton is good nor say it's bad. and i wont say p2 is good and bad either. we the one who got the money and choose. so pls dont get excited with any of ur cars. and hopefully the savvy can be replaced asap..p1 need to beat the overpriced viva.
proton's selling point is still their price…with local market protection in place they can be lazy and just subcon their engine(Lotus) and now design(Giugaro)…to show they have technological improvement…and just roll out the cars to collect payment…if proton thinks they r so good why don't they let myvi be same price as saga…
http://www.italdesign.it/img/italdesigngiugiaro_p…
thats looks very very promising…..all the best protong!! make it real!! and make it way way more affordable
Look like ordinary concept car. No proton identity at all.
"kancil elite said,
February 12, 2010 @ 3:13 pm
proton’s selling point is still their price…with local market protection in place they can be lazy and just subcon their engine(Lotus) and now design(Giugaro)…to show they have technological improvement…and just roll out the cars to collect payment…if proton thinks they r so good why don’t they let myvi be same price as saga…"
not all car companies "make" their own technology.. in fact, in every car, there are thousands of components made by a large group of different specialist companies. if you want to look at it in a very simple manner, a car company can just focus on how the car looks, what technology to put in it, tuning the way it drives and then decide how/where to build it, and how to market/sell it and at what price..
many companies still buy engines, or colloborate with other people to come up with engines.. and a good many car companies still buy gearboxes. a good example is VW and borgwarner with the DSG box.. VW still "owns" the gbox, because they paid borg warner to do the R&D and subsequent production. Like wise, proton 'pay's lotus to develop custom technology for their cars, but proton owns it coz they paid for it. is that really a problem?
how about the many 'famous' cars out there designed by 3rd party companies like giugaro?
or when you look at an alfa and go, wow, thats a sexy alfa, but many alfas are designed by pininfarina.. so how? the alfa is not an alfa? alfa is lazy?
i think you just need to open your mind up to the way the world is changing.
the truth is, this was designed by the european.
but who care? they were paid for the job.
if its produce, i expect some minor tune down but unfortunately there is no interior and rear-end pictures.
and so far, no one has release info on how it drive etc.
too early for that.
based on front and side profile, in my view, this design is at par with many other concept design by other marques. look just nice, good for not make it too weird and funky. people generally love average design added with just a little bit of flair.
kandiman said,
February 12, 2010 @ 2:53 pm
The car looks great. Now put in a high tech engine (at least CPS please) and fine tuned transmission (at least 5 speed auto please) and you got a very competitive car, but price wise must on par with Perodua if not cheaper.
It is supposed to be hybrid. The engine installed (in prod) just to generate the electric….fully electric driven.That's the whole story is about.
lets go head to head against the koreans!!!
looks promising… but please take care of the QC… if not, whatever kind of best designer also kaput…
kudos to proton…at last they dare to design something different
http://www.egmcartech.com/2010/02/12/giugiaro-pro…
Cool, Giugaro was responsible for the revolutionary web design on the Lotus Esprit Turbo (the James Bond car that went under water) during the 80's
Good design, but still can technology + quality match the complexity of the design…
Just imagine alfa romeo mito with a Campro CPS 1.6L + cheapo quality, compare to the original 1.4 multiair turbo engine + better built quality.
Great design need to match with great technology + quality… If cannot do it, please dont burn money n rebadge Mitsu lancer better..
Littlefire said,
February 12, 2010 @ 11:45 pm
Great design need to match with great technology + quality… If cannot do it, please dont burn money n rebadge Mitsu lancer better
———————————————————
yeah..keep on with your cant do attitude man..youll be a big L for life..
back to topic..the overall design is quite ok…but since this is a concept, i think they should make it more aggressive especially the headlights..its should have some angle instead of straight..unless, this is a near production design..
btw, is that protons new corporate grille?..i see resemblance of VWs except that one row is missin..its cool though..
gud luck protonians.
Just a concept for now. Why so excited?
If wanna be excited about it, wait until it gets into production.
Proton, please don't flash your concept car here and there. produce it if you dare, and capable of.
Looks futuristic design….ev design. But pls dont put others foreign technology. Pls be rational when put any technology in hteir production car! Dont repeat again…put robotic system in low class income target market……to replace robotic only…NOT ENGINE…..above RM10k!!!! Is it rational???? Buyer feels like cheated! Not to condemn Proton…but if this car good…reliable…savvy….then why not grab it if price competitive to the specification!
kancil elite said,
February 12, 2010 @ 3:13 pm
if proton thinks they r so good ""why don’t they let myvi be same price as saga""…
_________________________________________________
WTF????? this idiot blame P1 over myvi cut throat price…
THIS IS THE MOST STUPID COMMENT I EVER HEARD!!!!!!
summore,
KANCIL ELITE???? WTF????
how elite can yur kancil be????
yur knowledge + yur nick really make me sick.. prfthhhhh (peYno TM)
pathetic basher..
@zain…
If proton cant do concept here and there… what say you about Toyota n Honda concept?
From concept more idea can be generated…
Why cant you stop being pessimistic for a while and look at the bright side?
zain said,
February 13, 2010 @ 9:29 am
Just a concept for now. Why so excited?
If wanna be excited about it, wait until it gets into production.
Proton, please don’t flash your concept car here and there. produce it if you dare, and capable of.
———————————————-
people do concept to flash here and there. i say go proton flash your concept everywhere just like bmw, honda, toyota, wv and the rest.
Littlefire said,
February 12, 2010 @ 11:45 pm
Great design need to match with great technology + quality… If cannot do it, please dont burn money n rebadge Mitsu lancer better
———————————————————
Hahaha are you sure Alfa Romeo's quality is all that good?
Look at the secondhand prices of their cars..
Even Audi's own Lamborghini's quality isn't that good. Famous for Lambo's loose air intake hose, and also rattling noise in dashboard.
My friend's Audi A6 has no aircond all the time!
Another friend's old BMW 318i constantly gives random issues.
BTW what's so wrong with the Campro CPS apart from its not at the very top among all the engines? Do you want Direct Injection that needs oil change every 1000miles?
Critiques are good, let's keep this coming to help Proton by letting them know what's the problem. Respect for your frequent contribution to a better Proton's future. Even I myself a big Proton fan doesn't help that much.
Looks nice………….
good kaizen idea by Dato' Syed Zainal.
Can Aris Anuar (proton production team) produce this ???
Wait and see…….
Here….put the name Proton Mini Bagak….
from all comment above…wat i can say is….THOSE PPL BUY P2 PRODUCT IS SOHAI coz they got so many monay to b cheated….quality worst than proton nowadays…service poor than ppl…since u all got so much money pls gimme sum la…SOHAI
the design looks amazing. very proud of you proton. i cant wait to see the new designs for upcoming proton cars. the sky is the limit for proton. make us proud.
Concept car only lah..Just to let the world knows there's a car manufacturer called Proton.
Every car manufacturer also got concept car lah.
Even those China based 2 years old car company also have lah.
What took Proton so long?
It's a good concept car and quite a breakthrough since there is no plug-in series hybrid electric vehicle available on the market. If the public response is good, we might even see this car on the road soon.
yes…yes…. this would probably the first time i support for a local concept car… ^^
i guess, for non hybrid engine , the engine will be from mitsubishi.. from mitsubishi colt's engine ???
mak ai, kater la lampu depan tu led….
aku sanggup pi amik lesen, ngan tolak LC aku nih…
tahniah Proton.
saya baca dari bawah byk komen positif dan ada juga yang negatif.
2-2 kita kena terima yang positif sbg galakan, dan yg negatif sbg penanda aras untuk kita lebih maju bergerak ke depan.
berkenaan kereta ni scr peribadi
1) design look like Myvi Malaysia cuma ditouch up, dipendekkan, diubah sana sini sikit jadilah kereta baru. Tapi apa nak kisah sbb manaada dlm dunia kereta yang tak sama langsung design nya ngan kereta lain. Kurang2 mesti ada gak sikit2 irasnyer. Lagipun pereka Myvi dengan kereta konsep Proton ini adalah firma design yang sama. Kereta milik BYD dari China pun design lebih kurang macam ni cuma yang Proton ni lagi cun banyak depan dan tepinyer.
2) berdasar komen yang saya baca, boleh kata majoriti rakyat sedang menunggu kereta konsep ini dijelmakan sebagai satu realiti. So Proton kena pantas keluarkan kereta ini dan dengan kualiti yang tinggi. Saya kira ramai rakyat Malaysia sedia membeli kereta ni sbg kereta ke2 dan jika ia direalisasikan, saya rasa kereta ni boleh jadi pelaris baru Proton selain Saga BLM, Persona dan Proton Exora. Lain2 model jualan amat2 menyedihkan. Jadi Proton jangan biar rakyat tunggu lama2 sbb penantian itu 1 penyeksaan. Penantian yg lama akan memperlihatkan anda seoleh ketinggalan jauh di belakang kerana pengeluar lain telah lama sebenarnya menghasilkan kereta hybrid/ EV.
3) saya rasa design kereta ni bukan isu yang paling penting. Yang lebih penting adalah teknologi yang akan dimasukkan ke dalam kereta ini oleh kerana ia adalah kereta hybrid. Tahniah sbb akhirnya dah mula masuk dalam segmen kereta berasaskan bahan bakar baru walaupun langkah anda terlalu perlahan.
4) kereta ni exterior lebih pendek berbanding Savvy tetapi saya difahamkan luas interiornya adalah seluas kereta segmen D. Mungkin ni pembaharuan yang nak diperkenalkan Proton. Mungkin ruang letak barang dikecilkan dan mungkin juga dashboard dinipiskan.. Apapun yang penting bagi saya lebih elok kiranyer interiornya seluas Myvi. Lagi best lagi laris
5) x salah upah company lain design kereta. 1 lagi company design popular adalah pininfarina juga design kereta2 negara China spt Chery, Brilliance, Hafei dan Jac, Jepun spt Honda dan Mitsubishi dan Korea spt Hyundai dan Daewoo. Di Eropah mereka da design kereta mewah spt Jaguar, Ferrari, Bentley, Masearati, Alfa Romeo. Fiat, Peugeot, Volvo, Ford, Citreon dan Lancia.
So secara peribadi bagi saya, ini adalah langkah kedepan Proton mengupah company yg terbukti pandai design kereta untuk design kereta Proton. Apa yang penting adalah kereta yg kita design memeuhi kehendak global dan saya lihat dengan mengupah design2 firm ini kita dapat hasilkan kereta dengan imej global. Lagipun x silap saya Saga BLM adalah direkabentuk oleh LG, tetapi laris jer macam goreng pisang.
6) Proton wajib memastikan kereta ni keluar secepat mungkin. Proton perlu ingat Proton dah jauh tertinggal di belakang hatta dengan pesaing2 baru dari China yang telah lama memperkenalkan kereta konsep, kereta hybrid juga kereta EV. Malah hingga hari ini Proton masih lagi tidak cuba memperkenalkan segmen enjin melebihi 2.0 cc, tidak memperkenalkan kenderaan spt SUV/ Crossover. Saya tahu Proton dah ada Proton MSX iaitu Proton SUV tetapi tolonglah keluarkan nya secepat mungkin. Dah tak tahan ni menunggu. Anda lambat anda la yang rugi sebab pesaing2 anda bergerak terlalu pantas.
7) ini kereta hatchback 5 pintu pertama Proton. Satria Neo dah ramai mintak 5 pintu tetapi hingga hari ni masih 3 pintu. Adus.. lamanyer aku menunggu nak tengok Neo 5 pintu. Kalau dah 5 pintu konpem jualan meningkat, penguasaan Myvi dalam pasaran bakal merosot. Hehehe
Saya tak kisah orang nak kata saya basher ke penyokong ke apa ke.. yang penting point tu ikhlas di hati saya tanpa niat2 tak baik. Kalau yang kritik tu ambiklah wahai Proton sbg cabaran tanpa ganjaran dari saya dan yang saya puji tu sbg motivasi untuk Proton.
omg this car is too cute, I want one in every color. They should fly me to Geneve instead to create buzz about this car lol
FIKIRLAH DI LUAR KOTAK said,
February 15, 2010 @ 7:53 am
———
bai.. perodua jual kancil paling cikai pun dulu rm25,000 ko tak bising?? memang betul la DSZ cakap, nak kereta harga malaysia, tapi ciri-ciri eropah dan jepun.
nak kereta murah, kereta 2nd kan bnyk.. ko ni guna la kepala otak sikit.. belajar la ekonomi bai.. ni main hentam saja. aku pakai vios pun sbb bini sibuk nak keta ni.. kalau tak aku pakai savvy je haha..
mr rico, bukan semua orang mampu beli kereta import macam saudara. apa yang kita nak ialah kereta yang ada kualiti sesuai dengan harga yang kita bayar. malangnya kereta proton walaupun bagus tapi tak sebagus kereta import. sebab tu rakyat biasa macam saya ni rasa kereta proton overpriced. Tapi Proton boleh improve. sebenarnya saya lebih suka guna pengangkutan awam tetapi p'kutan awam di malaysia tak sebagus p'kutan awam di UK, jepun dan singapura. even para pelancong pun tak suka guna p'kutan awam kat malaysia. is this the kind of image we'd like to portray? i really dont know what the government is planning to improve public transport in malaysia. i just hope they're not sleeping on the job.
i just want to quote someone here…don't remember the name though…"buang sampah pun merata-rata ada hati nak pakai barang 1st class!!"
dear fikirlah diluar kotak… Ko salah tuju permintaan tu… Ko patut tuju ke vendor2 proton yg tidur nyenyak malas nak buat rnd. Cuba tgk la problem sama aje dtg dr vendor yg sama… Cth suspension bising, dr aku beli wira sampai ke persona, semua bunyi bising, lg satu vendor proton kalau ada rnd diorang sendiri…. So diorang boleh la jual bukan saja kat proton tapi worldwide sebab design tu vendor tu punya….. Ni dok lena dibawah payung
kroni
@ ameer,
if u are saying Mr.Rico's vios is import car… You are at fault… It is locally assembled… not a JDM…
yeah i heard that the new proton waja should be comeout this year.so what they look like. i hope that is was sonice and so good
No matter how Bad Gud Or Ugly about Proton, i'll buy it…
lightning mcqueen said,
February 15, 2010 @ 10:40 pm
dear fikirlah diluar kotak… Ko salah tuju permintaan tu… Ko patut tuju ke vendor2 proton yg tidur nyenyak malas nak buat rnd. Cuba tgk la problem sama aje dtg dr vendor yg sama… Cth suspension bising, dr aku beli wira sampai ke persona, semua bunyi bising, lg satu vendor proton kalau ada rnd diorang sendiri…. So diorang boleh la jual bukan saja kat proton tapi worldwide sebab design tu vendor tu punya….. Ni dok lena dibawah payung
kroni
————————————————-
are u sure that the noise came from the suspension?guess again…
cannot wait to c waja lancer ehmmmm………where the spyshot……
weh proton, cepat la buat kete ni.
cantik dowh!
jgn simpan cm proton msx tu…huhu
anyway, kalu kete ni kuar, mmg aku tolak je myvi1.5 auto premium petrol yg kt umah ni.
pakai kete ni lg bagus utk city.
back to topic>>
i see the exterior as if it is a cub (or tiny tiger, or kitten if we may).
big window for good visibility.
nice hidden lines.
offtopic again>>
if savvy replacement is of this kind,
i wonder then how a persona replacement would look like?
RRROOOOAAARRR!
__________________________________________
anyway, kalu kete ni kuar, mmg aku tolak je myvi1.5 auto premium petrol yg kt umah ni.<– wtf? u convert myvi to 1.5 ka? i tot got 1.3 n .10 onli
hehehe
btw btw~ that headlamp bkn ke….. ferrari 458 italia's headlamp???
Guys, Proton will price it over RM150K lah. How many average earning rakyat can afford it?
ok nice,boleh di cantikkan lagi.what is the bar at side window?anti theft ka?
just kidding :p
ps:ada kerja kosong ka Proton?if nak apply sempat lagi?
what ok
every region now fighting with new design technology and fuel cossumtion with high performance.and now proton sh** emas? u got to be kidding me…better concentrate to build more sport facelift la proton…whos gonna buy that crap? instead KIA or hyundai.i see that .their product become vunerable these days…..even me would impress before this issues………..
oi oi oi proton wake up
what we want to see a shark face
not a ugly duck……………….
ade bnyak kemajuan yg proton dh lakukan.bgi2 jugak kete ni
cantik,simple n moden
mest ramai yg nk kn nye