What happens when you cross a Proton Persona with the Proton Satria Neo? The result is above – the Aseelah/Aseela, designed and built by the National Program for Automobile Technology, an affiliate of the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology organization. It was exhibited at the Riyadh Motor Show 2010 this month.
There was news sometime ago about KACST and Lotus Engineering teaming up to develop Saudi Arabia’s automotive industry in terms of development and manufacturing capability. It’s not surprising that one of their first cars is based on the Persona, and a collection of other parts from the Proton parts bin it seems. In another arrangement, Lotus Engineering also used the Persona/GEN2 platform when it was contracted by China’s Youngman to develop Europestar-branded cars for the Chinese market.
Middle East-based news organization The Media Line reports that KACST will set up a vehicle production line at the cost of about 60 million Saudi Riyals to produce between 2,000 to 5000 cars a year, but the report doesn’t really provide a definitive answer on whether the Aseelah will be the first product being built by the KACST production line. But they did give an indication on how much a production version of the Aseelah would be sold at – under 50,000 Saudi riyals.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a car from Saudi Arabia – the first was the Saudi GAZAL1 Concept based on the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen designed by King Saud University Students. Look after the jump for more images of the Aseelah/Aseela.
[zenphotopress number=999 album=1789]
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Good looking wheels and grill!
why proton so many logos? 25 years of history need 1 logo per 5 years?
dun think this is a proton though…
learn to read first my dear friend…read first, even though your fingers were itching to bash
itu bukan proton la.
It’s not Proton’s logo. It’s the logo of Proton’s Saudi partner who’s going to OEM this car for their local market. It’s like you’re saying Volvo’s emblem is another Ford logo.
Hahahahahaha…dun think that this guy know how to read…
pure bodoh or too excited to comment?read 1st lah.thats arab manufacturer’s car logo..this car based on our persona.just like our wira dulu2,based from lancer..hadoi..shame2…typical stupid basher
Oh, and it’s getting Neo’s headlight!
front grill look like dugong vios
im also thinking the same
I think they were trying to re-shape the front end to tie together the Inspira’s nose and Satria Neo’s headlamps with a Persona’s overall shape
not nice la
Proud malaysian , , where ever we are, what ever there are , , we should proud with our own country , ,
1st
awesome… go arab…
wow! beautiful! proton should consider to facelift current persona with this design!
What for.. there are no more facelifts in store for the Persona, the next version will be totally new as indicated by their Tuah concept
KLIMS finish and so will Tuah concept. RIP.
from thundercat logo to horse logo….
read d article b4 comment.. haiyo!!! susah la ini mcm!!
Did you also ask “Why did Daihatsu change their stylized “D” logo to a stylized “P” logo can change their “Boon” emblem to “Myvi”?”
I hope proton in someway is making money out of this
sure they making money from this~..do u guys notice something..proton name are getting popular within this few weeks..from fight for the lotus name then use lotus to buying Renault to became lotus-Renault. after that, enter the India market with Exora/persona/savvy..whats next??..use Campro to enter F1 in 2013??..hi hi~
don’t forget.. turbocharged campro could get 200HP
200HP is not enough. F1 technical working group members are targeting for at least 550HP. Complete re-works also not enough for campro engine. I’m not saying campro is a bad engine. If Proton/Group Lotus decides to invest in developing their own Global Racing Engine, i’m totally going to support that effort.
reinforce the engine with other material
and then put high pressure fuel injection
sure can make 700hp engine
you’re right :)
i’m not saying 200hp is enough, but it shows that the engine has potential. anyway, campro will be replaced in 2013 (the same year F1 will start using 1.6 engine). so proton’s new engine might be developed parallel to the F1 engine? one can only wish :)
most probably, Renault is the one developing engine for Lotus-Renault. Lotus/ Proton could form alliance with Renault in that engine development, and share the technology, similar to GEMA engine.
u are right. a racing engine usually have short stroke so it could rev high… campro will nv cut it… however, 200hp turbo is good by today’s standard, even if it is not excellent.
Anyone remember the Petronas-Sauber engine that made it to a few limited-edition Satria GTIs? That was supposed to be used in Proton’s upper-range cars way back then, and was locally developed with F1 know-how by Petronas-Sauber engineers.
BUT, due to some stupid politics between Petronas’ CEO, Mahathir and Tengku Mahaleel, Proton rejected the Petronas-Sauber engine to “teach” Petronas a lesson.
no man, it’s economy of scale.
why should proton build that 2.0 engine if they could only sell 300 cars using that engine every month. it will take decades to break-even the development cost, and paying for the intelectual rights to petronas.
no it not, if the engine initially design of 2.0 cc, then it is not a problem of downsizing it to 1.6 or 1.8. But to increase the cc to 2.2 or 2.4 is a problem cz it need to retest it again, especially on reliability, the exhaust emission on so on.
the problem is that, the Proton CEO back then is to much ego, he think that only petronas know on how to built the engine.
then he makes a critical plan of producing the engine, named a campro. because of time constraint and budget limit, that why we only get a Cam tak Pro for about 5 year.
I guess they are on to something big…
Looks weird…
is Proton getting any commission from this..?!
Obviously. Arabs are REBADGING a PROTON!
and look!
nobody bashing them :lol:
imagine proton rebadge other makes…..u’ll get???
Oh dear God..! what are the bashers gonna say when other people are rebadging P1 cars…!
meh..they’re not gonna say anything on this post..haha..
china and arab.. next is india?
Proton is going to sell its cars as proton in india, right? not any rebadging, right?
yes, India will have proton brand. but the production / assembly will be handled by Argentum Motors. meaning, Proton would not build factory there at this moment. quite similar to DRB here, which handle productions of Mercedes S Class, and few other brands.
Yes, India is next and we have Samy Vellu to help us …
Yeah! Waiting for the bashers to say Saudi is taking one step back?
who knows they have more precise supplier in term of dimensions than proton? as far as i’m concern, proton suppliers are the reason behind low quality… which strangely approved by proton’s qc……………………..hmm………………. proton’s qc and their suppliers………….. hmm………………
haha biasalah proton, its actually proton responsibility lah to ensure supplier achieved the quality. its the ‘salahkan org lain’ punya mentality.
dulu salahkn consultant…edaglah, lotuslah, LGlah…soon Magna pulak.
skrg, where’s nobody to blame…blame the supplier…..when will u learn? no wonder xnak design kereta sendiri…hehe
accept the comment, make a thorough revamp. Syed Zainal had started the platform
hehe suddenly i’m out of topic pulak…….
a new COMPANY making a start in auto industry by rebadging proton chassis.. they r moving ahead not backward.. proton used to say it out loud in their web since waja, they’ve never rebadge any cars already.. but now.. tats call backward..
It’s strange that u ppl keep on talking about ‘bashers’, when there are obviously more fans of Proton on this site.
wats so proud of?? even KIA MOTOR which used to be par with proton r doing so much better now..
agree… ppl in europe signals a strive towards mainstream for proton after the launch of savvy and neo… but that development seems to come to a constant…. unlike kia and hyundai which from proton standard, to imitators and finally trend setter…
automatically their blind eyes will skip this post, miss-looked.lol
well some of the bashers complaint about the frequent logo changing…lol
dis logo owned by the new company lar..
Now Saudi rebadging Proton car’s LOL
First China now Saudi…….way to go :)
yes first china did a lot rebadging of proton cars.. now arab..
Good job proton..
actually i’m loving it… we can now find made in china spare parts or made in arab 1… no need kena cut throat by local incompetent corrupted supplier…
wat is this thing ==
Proton should focus on Inspira to avoid resources wastage.
I still miss my Satria GTI.
Proton Inspira is not proton’s core model. Saga & Persona(&Gen2) are their focus, now and years to come.
yeap… the next persona would be a C segment… despite proton’s best effort to say inspira as a C to D segment car, we all know lancer is a C segment… so clearly might just be a temporary solution…
Obviously proton will make money out of this…
Not much though..as they plan to build around 5k unit….if they choose to use proton based as their first car that is.
the looks is ok but view from side the headlight looks too small for the car. weird
They’ll drift this in no time, bulldozing tons of curious onlookers in the process
i would get one if it launch in Malaysia =)
why proton goes international not with the PROTON name and the ‘thundercat’ badge?
sometimes, you need to have joint-venture to penetrate the market. Korea has previously banned foreign car companies from setting up in Korea unless they have JV with local partner. JV is also one of the cheapest way to enter some market. if you do complete manufacturing or CKD yourself, you need a lot of capitals to build factory, hire workers, etc etc… with JV, all this thing handled by your trade partner.
and when you have joint-venture to market your product, usually you let the host change the name to make it more localised. mitsubishi let proton use ‘saga’ and ‘inspira’ instead of mitsu lancer. youngman also changed Gen2 name to europestar.
India is another good example of what MoFaz says. E.g. Maruti Suzuki, Hero Honda, etc.
Hong Leong Yamaha, Boon Siew Honda.
The same goes to Nissan. Labeled “Infinity” in US market. This is business.
If im not mistaken the company has two brands which is targeting to two different markets (infiniti= rich people, nissan= medium class).
same goes to toyota, it has lexus and honda, it has accura to attract rich people and compete with BMW and mercedes………
Correct me if i was wrong…….
neh… quite a difference there….
suppose u use this example tayota passo/perodua myvi, Dodge Caravan/Volkswagen Routan,Toyota Corolla/Chevrolet Prizm, Ford Galaxy/SEAT Alhambra.
one more humpty dummpty…dont u know whts going on in here?this is not proton,this is arab car rebdage from persona…haishhh…so slow~
I’ve dreamt about neo headlight on persona..Looks great..marvelous.
Jaguar XF front alike!
wow..! im proud of p1…
How Bizzare …. how bizzare ….
I hope proton got enough money there to create more efficient and greater engine for us here in Malaysia. Most of Arabs are very rich. Their fuel price also alot more cheaper than us.
not all arab country petrol r cheap
even where it is expensive it is still cheap. is it any wonder, they can have a weekend land cruiser solely to go dune surfing.
this is what im thinking when persona about to launch few years back, with Neo headlight !
ugly front lamp
Not bad at all. But I belive they could done better. First I must say, the car looks better than the previous model, but even better if they remove those protector mouldings, that thing makes the car looks cheap (even though this car is cheap). From the rear, if they use the same bumper from Persona SE and remove the spoiller, that might look good. Not like this car is ugly, but I’m just give my idea. Anyway, good job.
eat your heart out bashers!
“under 50,000 Saudi riyals”
50 000 Saudi riyals = 41 767.732 Malaysian ringgits
T_T
we have higher tax on both national/domestic and import cars. thats why.
well said.. sometimes ppl dont know how tax works in our own country..
it’s the government don’t want us to understand or “P” make huge profit..until now don’t have clear view from both side..fishy..fishy..
how about the copyright of the model?? can simply use other ppls’ design and treat as own???
if they get license from proton, then yes.. they can treat it as their own. besides, it’s maybe for limited market only. you might not get this car outside of Arab.
the front bumper and bonnet has inspira genes!
i think it looks quite interesting as if it has a big engine rear rwd style since the bonnet is bulging expressing north south layout , hope more coverage about this.
saudi arabia will enjoy its time until the world finds an alternative to oil… ah hem.
VIP Style? Hahah…
will saudian buy this thing? even waja overthere price at 35k riyal, nobody care. make me wonder.
first of all.. not everybody is rich. but yes, they enjoying themselves because almost everything there is tax free.
secondly, you never know what their gov would do. maybe they will introduce tax for foreign cars later?
hello mofaz? there is a reason they do not invest here but invest in singapore, becos they are smart ppl, not like you, lol.
you can support whatever you can. do they really pay you for that? or you do it for the pride? lol.
again, another guy accusing me getting paid by proton for defending it. childish!
don’t you have anything better to say, kid?
if they are smart… their oil company are managed by their ppl bottom up…
not foreigners…
they are managing their oil companies by themselfs man !!
u r speaking about somthing u dont know.
they are using foreiners as you are using them in PROTON.
the front looks like a mazda @@
nooooo! arabs will get more beautiful design than malaysians , arrrgggghhhh
anyway that’s business, cannot say much,
i think the ca is good enough, better if can something to the headlightcoz it looks small, such as add the ‘eyelid’ on top of it , just to make it look bigger so that it’s proportionate with the bigger grille , and can add chrome style finish around the window frame to make it get it more ‘upmarket’
Beautiful? Gen2’s front much better looking.
this is ugly la not match at all…the ori persona looks a lot better…
Most of the car in Saudis is American made….
This Persona design have American Car DNA in it….
Coolzzz…
Horse Logo almost like Mustang logo….
Hmmmm how come looks nicer than what we have here?
Pesona with a longer wheelbase……beats working with the Inspira.
Sadly……need better engine n gearbox….haizzzzzz.
The front looks kinda Toyota Mark X I must say… haha
it’s a really good move made by Proton to “sell” platform/ models like current Persona/ Gen2/ Savvy etc to other manufacturers coz they have planned for replacement of these models in the near future… at least they can further leverage on the existing models to get additional returns on the investment Proton have spent earlier to build these models… so it will not go into waste just like that…
Wishing Proton all the best to win the Arab market… after all Arab always highly praised Malaysia to our pilgrims when they perform Hajj there… Cheers!
imagine our hajj pilgrims went there and see this car everywhere… they would be smiling from ear to ear :)
Nice Job.
is it jus me or the front looks abit like the subaru legacy sedan ??
bt really good idea as alot of people tihnk that a 4door satria neo lokos will be awesome !
I can’t decide whether I love the redesign or hate it. I love the logo, that’s for sure. The low-slung headlights and the logo-on-intake style reminds me of the signature SEAT front.
But bravo to P1, you’re making good headway in foreign markets.
btw aseela in arabic means sting like authentic beauty
nice design, may the neo head lamp produce too much already, so fully utilized the part is the best way to cut cost…Frankly speaking…the Design is nice…common people like me will accept easily…
front looks like madza 6
well
i hope they got a proper motorshow compare to klims
i dont care if this thing is more beautiful or uglier than persona
more money for proton, that’s good already!
look weird especially the bling-bling grile, put it longer it become alfa romeo
now ur saying it… it really do seems they copied the cues from a guiletta
please take note that Mofaz and MoFaz.is not the same guy.
NICE!
this very old lotus model already very overused
so… you wish it is Perodua car in the picture?
hahaha..the car looks great than the original persona…why??
then, do you think arabs will use this car??
arabs need a large car /continental car..
not a car like persona..
business is business..but I can smell this project is not going anywhere with this arab’s company.
even, the proton prototype in KLIMS 2010 are looking not attractive especially TUAH.
nothing surprise me based on the design..totally out of date..
and for sure the finishing or setting inside the car is similar like current model now with bare dashboard and sakit pinggang seat.
go proton go…u can go in malaysia only..and if no gov policy..u also dead..
akakaka…
Saudi Arabia wants to bring themselves away from being to dependent on Oil as income. The Oil they produce is sold in a foreign currency which they have no input. They are realizing that they are suffering the ‘Dutch Disease’. In the past few years you see them developing downstream industries such as petrochemicals. Additionally they need to make jobs for their people. The auto industry can be their refuge as they produce none and consume all. However I don’t see them being competitive outside their local market. But the disease is not only with SA its regional. Whether they want to realise it or not, is a different matter.
where in the world that a govt has no policy?
good to know proton is thnking globally and doing what others have proven to be profitable. VW has been doing this for years in south america / spain / czech with the old golf & polo platforms. peugeot is still milking the 206 platform in china / malaysia. even premium barands like audi and mercedes is doing this with the old a4 and m-class platforms. this would give more cash for proton to develop new platforms like the TUAH for our market….
finally! someone who talks with brains and real automotive development awareness!
fyi tuah is using exora platform mainly to reduce development cost, and tuah or P3 by other name was designed by italdesign.
Not bad mah,Neo mix Persona!jus like rojak :)
can sense the new sonata grille there…
i notice a number of ‘positive’ comments here on hope that the campro’s replacement will be based on th downsized ‘f1’ engines… all i can say is that besides maybe a branding exercise..those 2 engines will have nothing in common because one is a bespoke engine that is tuned to high tolerances to at least get 600 hp that may need a rebuild after every race and possibly last about 4-5 races while the other is a gonna be an efficient mass produced engine designed to keep costs as low as possible….i dont think they would even share a bolt with one another…rally car engines may have certain design aspects that may trickle down to regular engines but not f1 engines for sure….even the multi million dollar lexus LFA engines that has been designed to mimic v10 engines in sound and delivery and made to be ‘bespoked’ as it is humanly possible for a road car is just a half way house to an the F1 engines that were used in that era
it look like a 4 door satria neo..
satria neo rear lamp looks better~
this is vios+inspira+persona+ satria neo..
walao eh.!!!
become so complicated!!
this is vios grill +inspira front bonnet +persona base+ satria neo headlamp..
walao eh.!!!
become so complicated!!
ugly……..
wau, it looks more elegance and classy than satria neo or persona…
lets hope if proton can deliver something like tat for own ground of their upcoming refresh model.
the front look like a JAGUAR.
cantik jugak.. kalo kat sini confirm ada orang beli
according to my friend who study at Egypt, almost all Arabs don’t ever admit that Persona and other Proton’s models there were made by Malaysian, they will never accept the idea that Malaysian can made such nice cars. The Arabs will always say that these models are “Yaban”, which means Japan. No matter how the Malaysians there claim that the models are made by Proton Malaysia, the Arabs won’t accept it. To them, like us, Japan makes high quality products, and they agree that these they-call-it-Yaban’s Proton’s products are high quality. Funny Arabs. =P
Wow interesting! thanks for sharing that little fact of yours :)!
Nicer than current Persona…….can it stand the torture of drifting…?
personally… ugly front, side too…. those tiny headlamp should suit only with short overhang front, not suit Persona long hood…. it look like a pair of just woke eyes…
rear part still ok… the best part is the rim, just wished that “complicated rim designed” Inspira opt to this design…. simple & nice rim…
wow! go proton go!
So far, from the comments above here are the cars that aseelah looks like:-
1) Toyota Vios
2) Jaguar XF
3) Mazda 6
4) Subaru Legacy Sedan
5) Alfa Romeo Giulietta
6) Sonata
I’m thinking, this might means that all the cars above look alike or have traces of each other…if so, we seriously need a complete overhaul of car designs across the world.
i prefer our proton persona elegance better :)
1 riyal = RM 0.835328
50,000.00 Riyal = RM 41,766.37
Yeah, gogogo Malaysia ! I like malaysia !
if this calculation correct, we malaysian being “con” by proton again bcos we always buy proton car in higher price then others….really bad, how proton can do something which benefit the home ground buyers……
its always a “daylight robbery”….. nothing can be said. love or hate it… only….
dude, all cars in Malaysia, both national/domestic and imports, have a damn fraking high tax. you can get a hi-line Exora for ~RM40k if without tax. Proton doesn’t control taxes, govt is.
you understand that?
Why, oh why that everytime people compare Proton prices in Saudi Arabia & Malaysia they tend to forget that the tax structure’s different? That they conveniently forget about Proton also having to pay excise & sales tax?
What you should do is ask the government why do they have to tax national carmakers as well?
haiyaa.. s.roma, alan n clement, our tax is diffrent from saudi arabia’s!! how old r u guys????
Heard about tax?
nip and tuck….. not very nice.
is this what they proposed as “islamic car” ?
The first para of the report in “The Media Line” about this rebadged car says
“It’s called the “Original” and marks the first time Saudi Arabia has launched a domestically designed and manufactured automobile sedan.”
No problem if proton’s name not mentioned but the “domestically designed” thingy is not true somewhat.
This car is to be sold to the foreign labourers working there lah.. Why you worry, if the locals don’t buy it, the foreign workers will. Small traders like Pakistani carpet sellers usually drive Camry or Accord, the market for this car is probably for those making less than that, there’s always a market for it, don’t worry…..
Do you seriously think those Middle Easterns will convert themselves from driving their huge 4 wheels or their luxurious Ferraris, Lambos, Audis, BMW or Merc to mere protong? Their continental/japs import cars are dirt cheap over there compared to us.
Remember few years back, that special edition protong wiralution? Stocks that didn’t do well in the Arab land and sent back to homeland as SE. Keh keh keh.
Same thing will happen with this Aseelah/Aseela … it will turn into Astagah~ in no time.
if i’m not mistaken, there’s no ‘small car’ in arab. No toyota vios, no honda city. Aseelah could be the first one there, and it could be the trendsetter in the future. not everybody is rich there, and for parents who have son/daughter in university, this might be in their shopping list. and it would be more successful if they widen the market to cater the whole middle east. maybe later.
mostly people with negative thinking are not successful person.. maybe u are one of them.. pangkat rendah, gaji sedikit & start to blem others…
imho, there’s nothing wrong with Proton’s design with all of the models. someone said that the Proton’s design; the parts, the interior, the look and etc, are great. maybe there are several points that can and should be designed better, but overall, Proton is actually producing high quality design for their products. In the Europe, Proton cars are among the least problematic vehicles, compared to other make. Still, they are cheaper there, same goes to in the Arabic countries. So, what cause the problems in Proton’s products are:
1. VENDORS – these are malaysian vendors. they have same quality of raw materials, but they just produce parts as lot as they can with less money and sell it with high price. they don’t give a damn about the defects products as it is so easy to deal with Proton when coming to defects parts, which is caused by…
2. PROTON QUALITY CONTROL – it is very tough to deal with Toyota, Honda and other makers when it comes to defects parts, but, it is sooo easy to deal with Proton about the same issue. maybe Proton QC is still saying OK for 100 defects parts out of 1000 units. they just receive the parts and weld them together. and that habits lead to loads of problem on Proton’s cars; power windows, leaking, rattling noise, vibrating noise, less-than-a-year worn brake pads, broken drive shaft in 8 months and many more.
so, the solution is… solve these 2 PROBLEMS first. then, in time,the Proton’s quality will increase dramatically.
1st vendor, sejauh maner kejujuran mereka mbuat parts dari bahan2 yang sepatutunya,, semasa di kilang power windows, leaking, rattling noise, vibrating noise semua tiada.. prblm belaku sesudah kereta itu diambil oleh proton edar ( keluar dari kilang ) sebab proton edar tidak akan ambil kereta yg ada pblem dari dalam kilang lg..
2nd proton pula sepatutnyer membuka lebih besar pasarannya.. market kecik, keluaran kereta pun sikit,, jadi vendor mgalami kerugian,, dari sini bermula lah pertukaran bahan mentah untuk parts2 itu.. bayar pun lambt sampai 3bulan.. maner nak cekoh modal..
lanuncyber says:
“maybe Proton QC is still saying OK for 100 defects parts out of 1000 units”.
hahaha.. tak logik la.. setiap defects yg jumpa mesti di repair, jika tidak proton edar tak akan luluskan kereta itu..
jika kata toyota 100% tiada defects out of 1000 units itu mustahil.. hahahaha
once u meet with proton Quality Department boss you will be amazed that you are still alive driving a proton. maybe you should check the disc brakes for cracks.
errr…front seems like Mers (lower bumpers) + Neo (head lights) + Inspira/lancer (front bonnet) + vios or kia (grill)…wahh mixed mess..hewhew
It looks much meaner than the persona, damn good job! If they come out with this edition I am going to buy it.
White color looks yummy on the design
Perhaps Proton should collaborate with car rental shops in the middle east to gauge the consumer market.
It will also be a good way to introduce Proton models and Lotus sport cars.
Proton should perhaps collaborate with a car rental companies/driving schools in the middle east/Africa to promote its brand/Lotus and gauge the consumer taste.
Proton may get first time buyers If their cars are used for driving schools/car rental companies.
Govt impose tax cause to protect Proton & Modenas. That why all brochure & price list at car dealer now did not show tax/duty amount & percentage like 7 years ago. All this happen after Govt introduce NAP even Malaysia has to comply with AFTA . This is how our Govt try to hide import tax & eksais duty from public eye. Dont go far, just check sale price Toyota Vios & Honda City in Thailand. If I not mistaken just around <RM45K only. Why? Thailand comply 100% AFTA coz they dont have national car.
Singapore Govt impose higher tax/duty than Malaysia & charge several fees to protect their road flooded by car but spare part 2 1/2 time cheaper than Malaysia especialy conti car part.
saudis gets all the good that we malaysians deserve.
what the crap is this? really pull down our standard, we saudi people only know what is super car and luxury car, this cheap car please keep for your own.
well,rebadging is normal right in automotive world?
dats cool..! other manufacturer starts using proton technology.. bangga wey..