They’re not a football team, so no open top bus parade around the city, but Proton proudly paraded their multiple trophies gained from this season’s FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). The six-leg championship ended in China earlier this month, where Alister McRae won the rally to clinch the Driver’s title from teammate Chris Atkinson.
That title was one of eight titles won by Proton in this season’s APRC – a clean sweep underlining total domination. The eight titles are the Overall FIA APRC Manufacturer’s title, FIA APRC Driver’s title, FIA APRC Teams Trophy, FIA Asia Cup Driver’s title and the FIA Pacific Cup Driver’s title. Those were won by the Satria Neo S2000s.
Proton’s Group N 1600cc 2WD Satria Neos won the Manufacturer’s title in the FIA APRC Rally Cup (2WD category), the FIA APRC Rally Cup Driver’s title and the FIA APRC Junior Cup Driver’s title. Karamjit SIngh, driving the Cusco prepared Neo, won all five events he entered in 2011.
By the way, this is Proton’s first APRC win after seven years, their previous three wins coming in 2001, 2002 and 2004. Proton returned for a full season last year, finishing second in the Manufacturer’s standings.
At this afternoon’s event, Proton MD Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin reminded all that while they’re happy with the trophy haul, their main agenda in joining motorsports is marketing and Proton’s in it to “race on Sunday and sell on Monday.” Proton says that events like the APRC provide the brand with enormous exposure, reaching out to an estimated audience of over 390 million viewers worldwide in 129 countries. “It will be a crime not to exploit the success of the Satria Neo in APRC,” Syed Zainal added.
The boss also hinted at a special edition (a special edition, not Special Edition) Satria Neo to commemorate the APRC victory. “Expect some exciting derivative of Neo, perhaps some special edition,” he said, adding later that a “yellow Neo” with “some of the DNA of the S2000” could be coming out in Q1, 2012.
Could it be a Satria Neo R3 in the rally car’s signature yellow with matching interior accents? Or can we expect an even more powerful Neo with more serious kit? No harm in listing down your wish list, someone might be reading!
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
yellow color, lagi power, lagi best!!!!!!
Yellow black… or blue red white… like our national football kit. :)
I second the motion!!!
tkde perodua tade lg power lg best…bnda cmni dh mnjadi bahan lawak…
okey..im out..tak tahan nak gelak dgn tagline produa tuuu….
My wish lists:
4WD or RWD
Powerful CPS engine 200hp at least
Track/dirt ready
Integrated GPS kit
Roll cage
and the most important is PRICE less than 90K.. or even better < RM80
kah kah kah…..owner pls describe your neo experience!!!
Others, comment only….
Lots of medals, so what?
Company still making losses.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, lots of talk, so what?
You’re still losing in your own life…
Obviously you’ve never experienced winning anything before have you mate… :)
byk pandai la ini machaa~
I want to see you say that if they’ve won WRC world champion in the future.
SFSSD – Rallying is about branding and marketing, just like WRC, F1, BTCC, DTM, etc, in case you are still unclear of the concept. It’s not about ego boosting or bragging rights, though some use it in their ads, again for marketing purposes.
In the case of Proton, their main markets are in ASEAN, hence the participation in APRC, because that’s where they want the brand awareness to be. Why spend millions in WRC when there is very limited market growth in Europe? ASEAN and Asian region is now becoming one of the fastest growing region for automotive manufacturing. Therefore brand awareness is very important tool to sell your products. Rallying is one of it, got it?
If you are a rally fan, you would have known that Proton also have limited participation in IRC and is one of the top 5 manufacturers this year.
ahh..i dont care! hidup proton! ;)
Trophy bro,bukan medal.
@jalan54, jalannnnnn lah lu..
rugi? lu mmg katak bawah tempurung!
Do this kutuk…do that kutuk…as long its proton must kutuk…dumbass!
thats why they need medal, to promote the car better. the same tactic use by mitsu and subaru…
win kena bash, lose kena bash…
at least they have medals….. if u asked majority of company will facing losses.. that the nature of business.. if u makan gajo dont talk a lot lah….
fools says like that
please define losses
so what !? nothing but complain
stupid comment by stupid reader… read the news la if you dont know anything…
so what ?? nothing but complain
alah u think its easy to make profit ka for automotive? what do you do? im sure not even executive level…clark je…
Losses for now maybe but not for the long term. You should proud with PROTON achievement in APRC, look who is the other competitors? I believe you would surprise that the yellow car can beat them in rally (which is impossible on road car version).
LIke it or not, it is a fact. Talk to me when the company is making profit.
I hate proton because proton messed up our lives. If not because of proton, we don’t have to buy expensive car.
All you only support blindly, you all don’t know what is happening around you. I know how good the car in rally is, but I also know how bad is the car produce by proton to all of you supporters.
Why are they making losses? You go ask them. Marketing is important, what is more important is that the internal management of the whole company. They never have the dedication to produce a good quality cars, they only want to make their own family richer and richer, that is why the company is still losing money.
They are still able to sell here in Malaysia because they make you all to pay higher price for other cars, try open up the market and see what happen, then only you guys tell me, what a good company is. Like it or not, these are all facts.
Actually the uber expensive tax was implemented during run razak administration…because everyone been driving big cc car,hence wasting the natural resource so the tax was implemented…even without proton,let say proton tutup kedai…the tax will still be there…not to mention proton is not the only National car maker..the second biggest contributor to our country income after o&g industries is car tax..the country will lose a lot of money without car taxation…
Its not just Proton that have the problem. Every company be Multi Nationals included!
Do you think by being righteous it will make profit? It is good that companies don’t make profit. It forces them to learn. And if has high profits like banks why does it benefit 1% of the whole country? There is more to business than chasing EBIT.
A company that provides sustenance to their market will grow further. An organization that helps to nurture its target market will endure the distance.
Yes I am a blind supporter. I am blind to issues that are trivial. Why would I want to spend hours thinking about internal politics? Coz I know even a German multinational company has equal or much worse conditions. I know even a leading American software company bathes in nepotism. Its NOT uncommon.
Ideas
Happenings
People
Which you prefer to spend your time on reflects how you are intellectually. I choose to celebrate ideas.
Maybe a 250hp S.E neo??
hope so!
Erm.. ok, so later you’ll improve the interior yea?
Hope Proton can take this chance to really give capitalise on the chance to even further improve the brand name, something like mass manufacture a Satria Neo hot hatch that’s actually hot.
Something that gives the Polo GTI or DS3 with THP150 engine a run for their money, a forced induction engine with 240nm of torque, great handling, with the same wide body design as the rally car, etc etc.
u sit inside the car, then you know where polo/ds3/308 spend their money at…..the interior quality!!!!
look at their steering wheel!!!
Doesn’t matter. I actually wanted to say I won’t mind all the cheap plastic either, because my focus here is on performance/lightweight.
I won’t feel so bad if I strip and throw away cheap plastic, but then again, everyone has their own opinion that’s why I didn’t mention it at first :)
Last year at KLIMS they showed us the turbocharged Neo. Then came the the black-and-gold supercharged version. Which one could it be?
cfe also can :)
masuk itu renault engine mcm waja 1.8 dulu, the one that mod to neo s2000 engine. masuk itu engine ngan stroker kit 2.0litre.
takboleh bro,nanti maintenance susah nak!baik buat yang lebih productive !
I like this chap slogan. “race on sunday, sell on monday”
let just hope they sell on tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, and saturday as well
anyway good news they won the rally. next year maintain in this one but join another higher level rally contest.
it is the world they must go after.
Err..pak syed. Just get the singh on board. He is cheaper. And he wins. Singh is King!
Give us power!!.. We want more power!!.. Special color and badges also!…
i want the neo artiga version with supercharger !!!!!! price under 80k !!!! gov tax is too high !!!!
Wah, so many limited edition Satria Neos coming out..! last week saw a bunch of Neos in convoy near Sepang Intl’ Circuit looking good..!
What do we have so far,
1) Satria Neo R3 edition (Incognito Black with R3 bloodstripe)
2) Satria Neo Lotus Racing GP edition
3) Satria Neo R3 (red)
4) Satria Neo Lotus-Renault GP edition (John Player special livery)
5) Satria Neo S2000 edition.
Like Hot Wheels, collect them all..!
The first was SNeo Black R3, 10unit. only. then SNeo Clubsport(why so few know about this edition?), I forgot 15 or 25 units. Then SNeo Lotus Racing R3 15units, the last one was the SNeo Red R3, this one im not sure 80units or 150units??? Okay the first 2 was based on M-line Campro, 3rd and 4th uses CPS engine. Lotus-Renault prototype only, even SAGA BLM got prototype but not production model.
Last week? .. saturday afternoon? .. if yes probably the group that went bagan lalang makan :P
Yup, was from Bandar Enstek, pusing2 sesat in the Persona. -_-“
Congratulations.. A good Advert in the Asia Pacific Region… the World might be next.. who knows..
Wish list =
1. Make a Road version of the Rally car.
2. Sell it at a cheaper price than Lancer EVO to grab the market share of Sports performance catergory (AWD).
What we DON’T want is:
1. Wanna bie rally car with all the kits but without the Rally performance. (running on the 1.6 campro 2WD).
If want to build a performance car… build it right with the performance stuff in it not some look sporty car but without the real performance in it.
Wishlist for special edition neo?
– turbocharged CPS
– widebodykit
– 6 speed manual
Wishlist on this special edition: DSG, Turbocharger :D
Change the satria neo into new look ler update new parts heehe…
a special edition…. a wide bodykit perhaps? :)
congrats proton!!!!
4wd Satria Neo with Campro Turbocharged! oh 4WD here i come.
The only thing we can be proud of is that the Proton badge is made by our shitty over price vendor the rest of the car is NOT made by us and that is why the car is still in one piece.
Someone better tell the wankers at Proton the mother of all rally award is the WRC.
Now with the 10 years revenue coming from the SERVICE CENTRE and spares parts since ALL Proton cars got powerwindow these wankers can spend our money on a PR exercise to hoodwink us that its now a better car!!
Incidentally whats the feedback from the 3 DJs who got the free Proton!!!
poor alfie… how many friends u have..?
make all those special editions, only for peninsular market. nothing for s’wak and sabah. 1malaysai!
How bout a detuned version of the s2000’s engine in the special edition. That would be fun.
perhaps a supercharge’s neo will do the job… yellow and powerful = yummie
It should be twincharged (supercharged + turbocharged) with 6-speed manual achieving 200hp, 250Nm. 0km/h ~ 100km/h in 6.5sec.
6-speed auto is optional probably the output is 175hp, 200Nm. Still, good and handy for city jam. 0km/h ~ 100km/h in 7.5sec.
All these with twin pot brakes without AP Racing, Brembo, Alcon etc. 100km/h ~ 0km/h in 40m.
We want a Proton that proud to own. Good enough to fend off other car makes at competitive price. We still support Proton when power, speed, safety, techie and price are all right in place.
What lah. Can fend off most 2.0 autos ler on a daily basis. ESPECIALLY in, around and exiting corners!!!! Ho yeah!
All you need is to know how to drive it hard, aware of your surroundings, and know what the car can/cannot do.
actually, those 2 liter car has nothing to prove, so they drive slow.
you have something to prove, so you drive fast, you indon!
did you see inspira drive fast? only you and some saga. lol
not exactly laa… not like we drive fast every time we drive…
i saw many 2.0s drive like mad, zigzag zigzag… especially civics…
…but don’t know how to take corners well… and smoked by a 1.6 proton just like that… just like that i mean being taken over by proton by the outer corner… by not even have to zigzag all the way like morons
yeah you are right spot on. all of the cars i’ve driven, proton (neo and savvy) is still the best in the handling department eventhough the interior a bit crappy. Most cars cant handle tight corners well but not neo and savvy. these two are the best so far i’ve driven. (ive driven golf, beemer, merc e class, civic, city and accord, lancer)
i don’t have problem to follow very fast e-class merc on winding and hilly road but don’t try to take over , just want to give him chance not to be humiliated by humble ‘junk’
If nothing to prove, then they should stop trying to chase me ok? Why? Does it make them feel disgusted by being overtaken by a cheapo car?
Yessir they have NOTHING to prove! They cant prove coz they’ve got nothing!
the only turn me off is its only have 2 doors version..i believe it can beat myvi anytime in term of selling record if came with 5 doors..
Too much weight. What’s the point of Limited Edition anyway? Please don’t be confused with the ‘Special Edition’ from other marques.
i want wide bodykit with supercharger…. fewitttt
my wish? satria coupe! possible?;)
the SE yellow neo news, i hope it’s not just yellow neo colour with aprc sticker…at least some special tuned engine and chasis…
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150357791512478&set=a.403838757477.179905.623557477&type=1&ref=nf
Hehe..yesterday got leaked picture of the new Proton..including at paul tan’s facebook..that one is yellow also..some said that one was for the crash test..haha..anyway special yellow neo..yummeh!
Widebody,stripped down…and as we know r3 do have a supercharger ….superchaaaaaaaaaarge it!!!!
My wish list are:
– New bodykits like the S2000 itself
– Recaro driver seat
– New meter design (Please)
– Turbo engine (Please)
– New steering wheels design (Please)
– New rear light design
– Change those fuel tank cover (Please)
– Huge rims
– Make Malaysian proud (MUST)
– Black rooftop
err.. bro.. the current s2000 is an non turbo… like this lawan tuan aledi.. kekeke
If they planned to put in Exora and Persona R, why not also put it on Neo? Haha, imagine the yellow MYVI LAGI BEST were been chased by a yellow NEO GABAN, kinda cool huh? Hahaha
let the bashing begin……and it already started..:)
Congrats Proton!
Yellow colour win – Bersih
please don’t relate urself with the oppositions please…. please….
Full wide body fibre panels! Make it available in Red too coz my R3 needs to shed off some weight. I’ll be saving my year end bonus for it Mr. Suriya!
or
How about some alloy suspension arms.
or
A Digital Dash Display with remotely mounted programmable minimum 7 x LEDs shift lights.
or
A double DIN player that communicates to the OBD II port of the Continental ECU and shows AFR, can time 0 to 60, 60 to 90, digital tacho, datalogger
or
A HUD tachometer.
or
Flog off the side mirrors and give us CCTVs that shows up on the double DIN.
Well Paul; you did ask! Hehehe
now its a time to proton to give real “Monster” to consumer…not a poser… proton must follow example from Mitsui and Subaru…with their Evos and WRX edition…
Yes Yellow BERSIH 3!Mat Sabu langgar Polis lagi?
dia tak pandai bawa motor, salahkan polis pula, hahaha….!
Retractable spoilers, undertrays, longer diffusers, Titanium hydroformed side impact bars. Rod-end bearings. Aluminium driver’s foot rest. Lightweight Denso alternators and starters. Aluminium battery trays. MSD Ignition.
Gawd I sound like a Demon Tweeks catalogue. Can’t blame me for trying Daryl!
so what?? nothing but complain
the piala look cheap..
thats aprc china round…..the proper fia aprc titles will be presented in monaco at fia gala night…..along side f1,wrc,wtcc and other fia titles winner…
yeay
yeayy
How about naming it Satria Neo Bersih 2.0 edition?
exactly..! Need to translate winning formula into commercial products… even adapt it to other models. Good job P1..!
wish a neo with a bodykit of s2000 and a matching engine to it.. 2.0 cps?
I heard a lot of rumours recently that proton has stopped production for Neo. Looks like this news has simply quashed the speculation. I believe that this Neo still has some good few years ahead to stay in production before EOL.
oh by the way, a supercharged or turbocharged of the yellow machine will be SWEET! and 6-gears manual transmission too, perhaps? keep the price between the current R3 Neo and below Neo Lotus version’s price and there will be a market for this, for sure.
Have both versions!
its true mate~ they stop production of neo in Otc
stop production for campro engine, cps engine still on production
no its not true .. they just did an official statement :
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=627491
they stop production in tanjung malim and move the production to shah alam.
this news saw out about 4hours ago.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=627491
At last they admit they already stop Savvy production in Bernama, but forget or purposely dont want to let ppl knew the real reason in the news?:P Only those who know how to read the chinese version news will know why.. haha..
I’ve just watched a race between Top Gear UK and Top Gear Australia. both teams were driving this Satria Neo S2000 car. and you guys should watch how The Stig drove the car! it’s in Top Gear Series 16 Ep 2, the race is called The Ashes. Bravo Proton!
Woohoo, congrats Proton! Now that’s what I’m talking about!
The neo s2000 uses Michelin tyres, right? This special edition should wear PS3 then heheheh :P
Aesthetic aside, I just want the real stuff in to further optimize this chassis. which is a powertrain + drivetrain update. Give me the sprintex supercharge with getrag 6mt.
Force induced 1.6 ltr
Jpj compliance rollcage (optional)
lightweight body (no need cosmetics diffusers/spoilers)
motec meter in alacantra dash
special edition fia recaro’s to commemorate proton victories
rcs tuned suspension (lotus punya pun oklah)
4WD
2sets of wheels (tarmac and/or gravel) runflat tyre
Decent ice
isofix :)
Fc 7ltr/100km on combined cycle
Widebody
Push start stop button c/w kill switch
Programmable ecu/mode selection
Price RM120,11,xxx (no 1 yr 2011. . .xxx Can be the rally car number).sell outside m’sia higher surely
Only 2011 unit to be produced worldwide with cert and tag (i want 7/2011)
Special registration plate number eg mine 1 APRC 7 (dedicated reg no for each unit) can sell/tender the balance reg no
Sorry for the long wishlist and thank you proton
So what Proton learn from these?
The power window still faulty can’t stand the violent vibration from rally driving?
Ah, just slap lifetime warranty to keep it all quiet under carpet. What a JOKE!
Typical Proton put the cart before the horse – wasting money on racing instead of developing better fuel efficient engines and totally faultless power window.
What’s next? Send Savvy for Dakar Rally? Good! Send 1,000 units to thrash it off than let it idle scrap iron stocks.
someone thing giving warranty is no cost to the company…. so anyone can give warranty.
hyundai entering US market in their early day give 10 years unlimited warranty to all car sold there. now they have a market there. same joke?
ajaw then apa masalah nye ko cakap benda zaman kaduk lah pegi baca buku lg elok… power window power window kalai tak nak rosak ko jgn tekan power windo tuh.. wating money <<< what wasting jd semua yang berlumba tuh company wasting lah.. ape lah branding kene lah kuat masuk aprc mungkin 2 tahun lg masuk wrc lg org kenal proton. even top gear dulu dok kutuk satria neo, pun puji satria nih bagus ape lah ..
did u see window fall during race?
You’re a commuter this is not for you. You’re a dime a dozen. Shoo! Shoo! Pergi main jauh jauh!
I want:
1-4WD
2-turbocharged. be it 1.6 or 1.8.
3-that color is a must.
4-those rims also very2 nice.
5-better interior finish
I dont want:
1-cheap plastic trim interior
2-stupid 2-tone interior (black/car’s color)
3-those bunyi tikus/cengkerik in the car. so annoying.
most important, put it at reasonable price. mybe around rm80k.
User customization! How bout ditching the 2 DIN Head Unit and switch to a small 60W RMS amp and connected to a docking station for an Android 7in tablet?
Now going into MaxPower mode;
Anodized Aluminium Bolts for Cam Rocker Cover. (Coz I cant find one from ProBolt).
High Temp plastic Cam Rocker Cover.
Clear plastic cover to see nice adjustable cam pulleys.
1.6 turbo (they already have the engine so cost should not be an issue) tuned to produce at least 180hp (200hp would be sweet, the rcz does it)
6 speed manual only! no pondan auto version
It MUST MUST have that sweet s2000 wide bodykit. (heck I would buy it just for the bodykit)
My take- First, proton needs to find out how much and how exclusive they intend to sell and make this special edition. Market intelligence comes to play by doing survey etc to find out how much or number public is keen to spend on this se.
Let say hypothetically speaking, the Proton finance controller ended up at 90kRM. at 200 unit with only 1 variant. Standard warranty for 60Kkm or 3 years whichever come first.
So total-18,000,000RM. minus 10% margin and we ended up with a project cost, let us name it as target product costing cost at- 16.2M
2nd- how much level of customization will be required to the presumably unmodified Neo bodyshell. based on public wish list.- will get to that
3rd- man-hour needed to complete the process- design, building, testing, crashing bla bla – for simplicity sake, take 20% out of the total project cost,
4th – let s put production cost figure in-stamping, assembling, procurement, mmm, warehousing, etc. say 30%. a bit on the high side since limited run and new stuff different from the production
5th- Marketing, administration, ..5 %
so we left with 35% to fit in stuff (as below) we want inside this shell which translate to a little over 30KRM-
power train
Ice
Suspension, braking and handling
Interior
Exterior
my wish list for 30kRM budget
wait, lets not forget by Q1 2012 the 1.6 turbocharged should be available in the new Exora mid-life revision.
so engine- (cost difference from the current model- significant if dual clutch)
1.6 turbocharged (mildly tuned for longevity, higher boost)
Transmission- i’m rooting for a dry type manual dual clutch system (Baru Betul Betul SPECIAL EDITION, DSZ, orang kl nak bawak gi kerja pun pun bole), but maybe we might be ended with a manual version instead. or cvt
2WD instead of 4WD, 4WD will blown the budget.
all the common electronic active devices- EBS, EBD, TCS, BA, plus ESP (very very cun if mated with dual clutch tranny )
Interior- (cost difference form the current model- significant)
seat fabric semi bucket recaro with special edition stitching – body panel, roof follow the theme- , dashboard preserved maybe different color, different display meter or maybe can be integrated to the ICE unit,like the new R35.- software based
steering wheel- momo with airbag with special edition stitching. (paddle shift if dual clutch)
ICE- double din integrated with gps or engine management , customed fitted. not look like buy from brother than just fit it inside- i like the one fitted in W204 C class
2 airbags – 6 blown the budget
exterior (cost difference from the current model- minimal)
color-the s2000 color without the sticker
bodykit-maintain with neo cps,may be redesign the rear wing/spoiler
headlamp- BI-XENON is a must with HDL
suspension (cost difference from the current model- minimal)
uprated bushing, stiffer suspension and spring-
no need ohlin suspension or AP racing caliper
The question is-can it be done for 30k? well.. sure it can..what do you think?
Si-Fu- I would like to hear your thoughts on the new Persona replacement model. anything legal you can share?
i wonder after the race, power window masih ok tak?
:) yes indeed, the S2000cars is using the production made power windows in all their rally car.
i want the exact satria neo s2000 to be road legal and nothing else matters. please…. thats all. thats all.
Stupid Proton… full of expat mgmt but nothing improve. WTF…