The third car to undergo a complete refurbishment in the My Proton Makeover programme has gone back to its owner. Engineer Norzamzarini Mohd Bajuri received his R3-rebuilt 1996 Proton Iswara Aeroback at a simple handing over ceremony at the Proton Centre of Excellence yesterday.
The red, second-hand Iswara AB 1.3 that Norzamzarini purchased in 1998 received the full R3 treatment, though the ideas that went into the reworking of the car, as explained by R3 head honcho Tengku Djan Ley, was to ensure its practicality without compromising its external looks.
“As it is the primary mode of transport for Norzamzarini and his family, the car clocked high mileage with its daily use. Knowing that the consistency of its usage will continue, the work that was done to the car’s performance was not so much as to give it more power but to improve its drivability and efficiency,” Djan explained.
“Norzamzarini mentioned that he liked the colour orange. We then explored that option and decided to do the car up in Lotus orange,” he added. The colour was first seen in photos through work-in-progress stories run earlier.
“There was a slight fear that this could potentially make his car look a little tacky. However, the decision to use a significant amount of titanium-coloured detailing helped us avoid that and ultimately gives the car a uniquely classy and sporty look,” he explained. The car also sports a dark interior with strong hints of Lotus orange, fittingly complementing its exterior.
Mechanically, the engine and the gearbox were given a full overhaul, while the suspension system received special attention – it was adjusted to give Norzamzarini’s car a standard feel whilst looking sporty, with an emphasis to provide a balanced performance for day-to-day driving.
“We also opted to use 15-inch rims to improve and sustain the car’s balance, so that it will not result in high fuel consumption,” Djan added.
Meanwhile, Norzamzarini was pretty chuffed with the results. “This new lease of life that Proton has given to my car is a gift beyond words and is truly a blessing to me and my family,” the software engineer from Muar enthused.
The Iswara AB joins Sashideran Radha Krishnan’s 17-year-old Wira and Fadly Hisham Roplay’s 1992 Saga as the R3 makeover specials. Next on the cards is a Satria GTI belonging to Salina Hisham from Johor Bahru.
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is it legal to change the looks of the car like tat????JPJ Approve??
Looks like an orange Proton Iswara to me.Does not look like an orange Lambo.
whats wrong with changing colours ?
aiyo, just send to jpj apply for car color change la…
ofcuz its legal ==”
Stupid questions. It’s R3 that made the makeover FFS. And only color change, slap in minor bodykit and sport rims.Standard engine and tranny. WTF do U wanna JPJ’s approval for??
which part?
The plate is definitely illegal.
Refer to this
http://www.abunyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/plet_no.jpg
Dunno why i think this is the best looking and clean Iswara ever ! much much better than those Evolswara !
The number plate does not seem to be something that JPJ approve though
Color is great!
wayyyyy better than the previous makeover. something unique. never seen an iswara with this colour.
Boss tak pernah tengok Teksi warna oren ke ? :-P
yup…great colour…nice
How about putting a more powerful power steering into it to improve drivability. That, I’ll be very impressed.
more powerful? can turn without using ur hands? ;)
Quite obvious that you never drove that type of car before.
U mean power steering???
why???
i’ve driven kancil with faulty steering rack..i’ve driven old datsun 160j without power steering….seems the steering work not that hard….
Excuse me bro I dont see any big changes which require JPJ approval deiii……the only changes is the 15in rim ………
Number place font legal ? Police and JPJ tak kacau?
WTF…6177 or 6I77???
if illegal, tukar jelah..apa susah. adoi
First thing first, the no. plate pass JPJ? Later kena blocked saying “fancy no. plate”
Looks like a Taxi because of the colour.
engine and tranny overhauled and cleaned up….chassis being repainted in side out removing all the rust, new interior, new paint, new tyre and rim, new absorber….what else you need anyway…this will give the car new lease of life…would last for another good ten years….perhaps as good as new….lucky guy
Many ppl gonna bash this car due to colour,no X-treme makeover….typical… c’mon its free ok…free powertrain…free cushion..free overhaul…but wat i dun like is only is the rim…kinda small…btw good job R3 for restoring iswara…= )
R3 is now officially, Repaint, Restore, Recycle!
hahahahaha..
i get ur cynical dude..
i tot it was Race.Rosak.Repair
hihihihi..
we want to see the tail lamps!!
Nicely done but could have installed airbags (if can).. the poor fellar got kids for god’s sake. The car looks good. He looks happy and that’s all that matters.
There was no major change done on the car. This is more like reviving the car and repainting it. so, doesnt make a difference to JPJ.
wait a minute. Is that number plate legal? Don’t want him to get jpj summons for that. hahaha..
for kids, better to install ISOFIX mounts. so that can fix R3 child seat!!
It would be nice if they have plans to make the bits and pieces available for retail. I know they have some for the Limited Edition Vehicles. When I owned the Satria GLi, I had to look around for the bling stuffs like GTi mid consoles. Of course you could still get some of these still, but to get an official one would be nicer.
do we have to payfor it? how to participate
go here http://www.protonvip.com/contest-info.php
I don’t see any Engine pic.. Is there any?
The plate number not approve by JPJ. The JEH too close with the number. Saman dia….
nice color, the rims in black would b nice if they put in matt silver, but overall great job done. guess this car would b road worthy for another 5 years easily, with some TLC may get another additional 5 years to that. would proton consider a remodelling on the perdana too? like to c what these guys can come out with
the best PIMP MY RIDE by proton so far.
rim look nice , colour look nice.
funny to see voting button..ada gak Angry & Sad on this news….something wrong with them.LOL
Paul, the color is orange or yellow? It’s beautiful that you combine with black list color
I kinda like the unique colour though…
Congratulations!..rezeki~
wow….they turned a lemon into an orange :P
Nice…
When could we see more extreme pimp up ride eh?..
number plate fail again……
Haih… Got nothing to comment but still want to comment… Dun need to repeat the same point many,many,many,many time lah.. Just like the first comment about the number plate lah if u like it so much… Always like that… so ‘mencapap’…
still looks better than most korean cars
Er…. Really dude? IT’s better looking than Forte?? Sonata??
Norzamzarini Mohd Bajuri now can sell of this car with higher value then go to buy other brand.
He’ll thank R3 for appreciating his car value so that he can save on his down payment on his next ride.
nice colour..mcm toyota gt86 jer…hehe :D
the number plate will not pass jpj….
oh, really? Ni kan Bolehland, bro?
ello bang Norzamzarini, tibalah masanya ko pi TOYOTA showroom ngan Saga R3 ko tu….Cantiknya PriusC tu bang….hehehe
Color pun dah lebih kurang :)
i will be more than happy if perodua want to do total overhaul my kenari like this iswara. at least i can drive for another 7yrs. only brainless will complain this and that. the owner will appreciate what he got.
No interior shot? Would like to see the engine bay :)
Unfortunately, there were no engine bay or interior shots that came with the release.
MAKING-OVER SHIT ,STILL LOOK LIKE SHIT. JUST LIKE MAHATHIR’S FACE.
MAX = SHIT
You really love shit, aren’t you?
lucky fella. i assume the car already finish installment, no more to pay bank, got to drive like new car some more. very lucky fella.
Even the owner looks meh.
One good thing that come out of this is :
1. The lucky owner gets his/her car rebuilt by R3. (and I do mean REBUILT !!).
2. He/she gets to make friends with the R3 fraternity.
3. The guys at R3 really know how to make an older car look good.
4. This lucky guy will not have to buy a new car with endless installment headaches,
as he can use this car for many more years to come.
hey this kinda plate number font acceptable meh???
no soundproofing for engine hood?
THANK YOU ANTHONY LIM :)
makeover = make up.
What about the performance of the car??? any improvement worth mentioning??
Is the owner happy? i mean…u want to drive a car with that color?
its mean to market the protong with the expense of owner..
In all possibility R3 must have consulted and informed the owner regarding everything prior to the car’s ‘rebuilt’. Maybe this is the colour the owner wanted?
I think they ask the owner la before they do it it. And, why not??? So many people use that colour in their car… I’ve many… I see a lot of people drive a car in that color.. U don’t like does’t mean others don’t like too… For me that car look better than standard one… More ‘garang’ and sporty…
nak kata buta, boleh buka webpage. tapi tak reti nak baca full report. penat2 Mr Anthony tulis tapi tak ada orang baca, terus jump to conclusion.
The problem with some readers (if they read) and some commenters is they didn’t understand (or try to understand) the whole story. Instead most of them keep on asking or commenting on nonrelated subject which already been written clearly in the related articles.
Pitty…..
Hi Danny/Paul, I think there’s a typo near the end of the article.
“the software from Muar enthused. “?
Rectified, thanks!
anthony~ more pic please~ tq~!
for a common, average guy like most of us.. this would be a bless in any way…
this is his primary transport for god’s sake.. it doesn’t need to be that powerful… it just need to be reliable…
while most of ppl drove a nice japs / conti, this man settled for his saga.. seems like most of the condemning comes from a lucky boy of god..
if i were him.. i’d take this chance.. anytime!
adoi la kawan…
u can read past report/pic about his car progress. they already overhauled this car’s engine, total body paint, its TOTAL okeh! no rust left behind (u can estimate how much needed for that) plus few refurbishment works.
number plate? aloo kawan, he already drove this car for YEARS and he already know if its illegal. how much he need to change plate? nah… just few ringgit only. make it standard n can slap ur face to shut ur mouth (no bashing again). why this car looks like no X or extreme looks? for sure R3 wanna make it as legal as possible n for family-used car. its cool wat? 15″ rims plus nice lamps, paints, n new refurbished interior, n i think tht his car like ‘anak dara’ lor… stop bashing, stop complaining and ask stupid question as i think this owner/engineer not tht stupid to hear tht.
congratulation to the owner, we proud of u for ur car to have new life n extended so serve u!
Tahniah Zam,
gempak jugak staff Mimos dapat masuk media, kereta ko pasti gempak abis lepas ni !!! woohoooo !!!
as ugly as your face
Ugly like his face? no larr…if ugly than he’s still single, but he’s married already.
Got problem with that? Better than u, who got big mouth & fat ass ,NORIKO…
Congrats to Norzamzarini !!!
For those yg comment tak tentu hala kat sini, their so jealous sebab kereta diorang tak dapat masuk contest nih tuh jer…cuba dapat masuk tengok…mau melompat berguling atas tanah…it’s free for god sake, lagi mau bising.