You may recall that in 2012, Proton acquired all of Petronas’ engine technologies and the associated patents at a cost of RM63 million, with the deal comprising seven engine technologies and 117 technology patents.
Well, Proton chief technical officer Abdul Rashid Musa revealed to us at the Proton Iriz press drive event that direct injection and turbo direct injection are among the Petronas-acquired technologies, and that they “can be applied to all engines.”
He did not however divulge which engines, or which Proton model, would first receive the treatments and when. Direct injection and turbo direct injection would aid Proton’s charge into overseas markets, particularly Europe with its ever-tightening emissions regulations.
In the case of the Proton Iriz, direct-injected versions of the 1.3 and 1.6 VVT motors (designed to Euro 5 standards, detuned to Euro 4 for Malaysia due to our lower fuel quality) would certainly go hand-in-hand with its borrowed diesel engine towards meeting the upcoming Euro 6 standards. Could other Proton models follow suit in the future?
