Proton will make its return to the World Rally Championship in 2018 with the new Iriz R5, according to a report by Autosport. The rally car will be put together by British firm Mellors Elliot Motorsport (MEM) at its Derbyshire factory, and is set to appear at next month’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Built to compete in the WRC2 category as well as the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), the Iriz R5 is powered by a 4B11T turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine taken from a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. To comply with the R5 class regulations, the engine’s displacement has been decreased from the stock 2.0 litres down to 1.6 litres.
Other notable components include an Xtrac transmission, Reiger dampers, Brembo brakes and Cosworth electronics. The car will be available in both left- and right-hand drive, with homologation set to take place on January 1, 2018.
“We started looking at this with Proton last year and straight away we were excited by what we saw with the road car. The size and shape of the Iriz is perfect for rallying,” said team boss Chris Mellors.
“Everything is in the right place: the overall length of the car is shorter than the Satria, but the wheelbase is longer; the strut tops are in just the right place; there’s lots of frontal area which is great for cooling. We’ve got a great base car and into that we’ve put all the right ingredients,” he added.
This isn’t the first time MEM used a Proton for rallying either, as it had previously built the Satria Neo S2000. The car competed in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), Super 2000 World Rally Championship (SWRC) and the APRC.
“Proton never lost its interest and desire to compete in rallying. It was just the practical point that there was no car. Proton is really excited by what we’ve got here,” Mellor said.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Don’t focus on rally. Focus on your normal car sales. Cause that is the one that will feed your staff.
Current sales diminishing badly. This year, might even be 50,000 cars only. How you going to pay your 12,000 workers?
Iriz R5, will be put together by British firm Mellors Elliot Motorsport
As if MEM is doing this free of charge for Proton.
obviously MEM need to buy the car from p1
Proton sure give the car FREE to MEM. Infact, they will give a few units FREE for trials and testing.
No car company sells their cars to rally guys. Cars are always given FREE to guys like MEM
But Proton got NO MONEY. Hwo to give FREE?
P1 can always ‘donate’ to MEM like how the rakyat ‘donate’ to P1
Why wud P1 need to donate car to MEM? Its a private company and nothing to do with MY or P1.
If you dont know already, car manufacturers around the world depend on exposure they get from racing championships, be it rallies, F1,F2,F3,Daytonas, engines etc. U cant just depend on manufacturing alone.
Dude, Proton don’t use their budget or staff to compete in this competition. This is just simply a foreign rally team chooses a Proton Iriz to compete in the competition. Proton will obviously give a little technical help here and there at first, but only that.
The little technical help also involves money. Proton got no money. Better for Proton to save money. Sudah boros.
“This is just simply a foreign rally team chooses a Proton Iriz to compete in the competition.” This is rather naive. When we wanted our F1 driver to “competed” on the world stage, we had to pay for his seat. The team got money to “choose” and Iriz.
Err no. MEM buys the base car from P1 and adds on, P1 gips some tech sapot to customer.
It doesn’t say that anywhere in this article, or at Autosport. I guess you must have inside information.
Neither does it says P1 donated to MEM. Based on their record of doing S2000 satria neos, if the cars were shitty and sole reason they did it was cuz donated FOC, then topgear wud have bashed them when they used it for their face-off contest. And yet they were impressed, mind u.
I was expecting this kind of comment from you Kunta Kinte. You dont really research the fact and bluntly throw your comment, am i right? next time, think before you throw your comment buddy. you have gone too much already. should be lucky PaulTan never blocked you yet.
I think PT alredi did. Deswai he keeps changing dupes.
someone willing to use our cars for rally. you should be thankful. they are promoting our cars and indirectly increase the sales on normal car itself
Wow. Bashers butthurt bertingkat tingkat cuz their MEM din choose their godcar for rally.
Imagine myvi doing rally, you can imagine how many turtle even before reaching finish line
inb4 ang moh puji, tapi rakyat sendiri tau keji je.
Bodoh. Ang moh use it to race, whereas rakyat use to for day to day point A to B tool. For that purpose, people appreciate low fc, low maintenance cost.
Habihh lu bila mahu Proton?
Pulang RM1.5B baru cakap
What does MEM buying & modifying P1 cars have to do with 1.5B?
How many Iriz are there with Lancer X engine? If Iriz come with Mitsubishi engine as default, I don’t mind getting one.
I guess not many understand what I’m trying to say.
Since the ang moh use the car for competitive purpose, they praise iriz for being a good base for them to compete.
Back in Msia, Iriz owners all are normal people just using it to get A to B. People bash Iriz as it’s not really great for this purpose.
Frankly, if Iriz did come with Mitsu powertrain, they’re probably likely to do better. Janji Japanese powertrain, tak payah pening, tak payah fikir, sure jimat fc, cheap maintenance and bulletproof reliable.
Then u probably dun understand why ang moh come half way around the world just to pick on a particular model from a particular local make, rather than from Volvo China.
Volvo never entered rally, they have their own Polestar/Cyan Racing agenda anyway.
Polestar belongs to Volvo China. Is MEM belongs to P1?
Betui, betui… We still need to return to jepunis grassroot for reliability. Pipu who bash jepunis car dun know how to think
If Mitsu powertrain, then no issue about dashboard gegar bunyi tikus..
I pay gud money if anybody can hear bunyi tikus thru the form fitting helmet over the constant radio chatter and with the engine revving at high speed driving on multi-surface roads.
Jgn cakap je, kalau jual 200k, u betul nak beli ke? cakap boleh jgn cakap kosong.
Why would Iriz with a Lancer engine be priced at 200k? Bodoh tak bertempat. Even the Inspira cost much lower, let alone an engine.
In any case though, feels glad to see Proton back in motorsport, and since run privately, doubt got any issue of using public fund.
Please make more coverage of this, paultan.org writers.
Loop me in!
Why not keen and confident with Proton’s own Camtakpro 1.6 and CVT?
If want to win go big la, put Bugatti’s WW16 or something. WaSte of money on Motorsports. Upgrade your dealerships and improve your after sales service la
Proton still proudings their W(Waste) R(Resource) C(Car)
If MEM racing, whats it got to do with P1?
suka hati mak bapak dia la nak pakai whatever engine..kau sakit hati kat mana?
Kalau Mahaithir bukan lagi bapa Proton, siapa bapa Proton sekarang? Nak bankrap tak malu nak minta duit pergi racing xD
Mellors pegi racing apa kena mengena dgn P1?
Campro, CVT has different purpose, not for rallying. For rally, obviously they’ll have to use powertrain and drivetrain suit for rally purpose.
Why don’t you ask other car manufacturers in the rally to use the same engine and transmission in their normal road car for rally? Nobody does that lah because it just doesn’t fit the purpose.
The rally car needs an engine that can widthstand incredible torque force and can maintain high power output throughout the entire rpm.
Proton engines dubbed the Campro with the latest iteration VVT was built for economy purposes. It wasn’t meant for high speed manouvre and agressive throttling. Also, Campro will be phased out in favour with a new series of Proton GDi engine, so, using the existing Campro is probably not a good idea.
The previous MEM Proton Satria Neo S2000 Rallye uses a Renault engine, so no surprises here if they’d choose a more promising and well built Mitsubishi Evolution X’s drivetrain.
And before I forgot, who on earth use CVT for rallying?
Not every engine is designed to be used in a race. Campros are built for day-to-day use. That Mitsubishi engine is built with racing in mind. Mind you.
This is the best news so far this year regarding Proton.
Yet, it’s also quite ironic. Proton isn’t even selling the Iriz in the U.K., but that hasn’t stopped MEM from preparing this truly impressive Iriz R5 rally car.
The thing is, MEM could have chosen any small car currently on sale in the U.K…. but no, they went through all the trouble to get an Iriz of all cars.
Granted, MEM previously partnered with Proton on the iconic Satria Neo S2000. But Proton doesn’t own MEM or anything… and I doubt Proton has the money to fund a new WRC rally program right now.
MEM has invested a lot of time, money and manpower into this Iriz, seemingly at their own expense and choosing. If that doesn’t make a statement, then I don’t know what else will.
No doubt, this news would be a huge honour for Proton, and the car itself will probably do very well especially in APRC.
Godspeed and best wishes to MEM.
Iriz R5 menang, Negaraku berkumandang
Godspeed.
I mentioned last time I was disappointed I couldn’t get fire red Iriz.
Silver ain’t so bad after all :)
Questions remain though, how much is the Proton factory involvement in this project? Financial-wise the company is struggling. Unless, this is largely a private exercise. Perhaps Proton will be supplying only the bodyshells FOC.
All the more reason for Geely to become their new owner. Literally unlimited resource at their disposal.
So many shake leg, maybe finally they got things to do?
P1 better Give a BIG thank Q to British firm Mellors Elliot Motorsport (MEM) for using the Iriz.
If they do win any rally that they participate, Proton will be credited. That is ‘FREE’ advertisement.
I always believe that There is No such thing as a Free lunch. I wonder how much $$$ is P1 paying for the “Sticker” in the Rally Car?? I personally do not mind driving the R5 around. It looks like a proper Rally car.
sticker? i’m pretty sure it a car most likely MEM buy incomplete iriz to make rally car at discount price.
Dun mind him bro. He regular P1 basher with cave facts.
Are U telling me the word PROTON on the front door are NOT Proton!! Do U understand what is METAPHOR.
we need Iriz turbo version R like previously Mitsubishi Colt Ralliart or Polo Gti….
Excuse me, how much money proton is pumping in for this?
credit to aero :
This is the best news so far this year regarding Proton.
Yet, it’s also quite ironic. Proton isn’t even selling the Iriz in the U.K., but that hasn’t stopped MEM from preparing this truly impressive Iriz R5 rally car.
The thing is, MEM could have chosen any small car currently on sale in the U.K…. but no, they went through all the trouble to get an Iriz of all cars.
Granted, MEM previously partnered with Proton on the iconic Satria Neo S2000. But Proton doesn’t own MEM or anything… and I doubt Proton has the money to fund a new WRC rally program right now.
MEM has invested a lot of time, money and manpower into this Iriz, seemingly at their own expense and choosing. If that doesn’t make a statement, then I don’t know what else will.
No doubt, this news would be a huge honour for Proton, and the car itself will probably do very well especially in APRC.
Godspeed and best wishes to MEM
At least some positive news for Proton. Even though they are just using the shell, it will still put Proton in the spotlight. I don’t think any of the technology will filter down into future Proton cars for normal use, at most they will put a badge saying it was part of a Rally team lah, much like how we murdered the Lotus name by saying Protons are tuned by Lotus.
But P1 salesman told me that Proton handle as well as Lotus how?
Doing something is better than doing nothing. But my question is how is this effort going to improve overall sales of your cars?
Syiok sendiri pun perlu wang, tahu?
I still want see Iriz with lowered suspension, big wheels, low profile tyres, big woofer and Tesla electric motor to roll it lol
LoL… the only thing P1 about this is the shape of the car. Such full of crap
Damn, if they make the road legal version with the 4B11T intact I don’t mind buying it!!
of course p1 spend ‘some’ money on this. no one in their right mind will choose iriz over fiesta to race wrc.
Sian butthurt, lol. Even topgear raced neo, why not fiesta? lol
P1 is already on deathbed financially…..still wanna waste money and time for WRC??
“Biar gaya, walaupun sudah mau bankrupt”, I guess.
Even Malaysians are giving up of P1 due to poor quality cars that plagued owners for too long.
Read again the article lah
Can consumer like us order the Iriz 1.6 Turbo Evolution X Model?
Please have the conscience to stop spending tax payers money unnecessarily. Stop all these self indulgence to focus on making good value and quality affordable cars for the masses instead.
If MEM did spend Ingland taxpayer money, whats it got to do with us? And MEM dun do cars for the masses.
so mitsubishi gets the credit la when this car wins podium
when RBR won F1 races, Renault ka yg dpt nama? chet!
Lets see if Proton gonna make Iriz “special special edition” like they did with the satria s2000.
Tumpang glamour people says.
Lol they can’t even build their own racing engine and already wanted to begin the rally competition with a Lancer’s engine.
MEM support Proton that brought Karamjit Singh won the PWRC . They were the one responsible on preparing the Proton PERT 4WD (Evo 6) for the PERT team. And still after many yeras, MEM still support Proton by bringing us the Neo S2000 and this Iriz R5.
Even Proton through R3 did pulled the plug on the Neo S2000 program, it didn’t stopped MEM on developing that car. All the Neo S2000 rally cars were upgraded to S2500 engine using UK’s made engine, Millington Diamond. And it was proven more robust than the Renault unit they’ve using before.
The story about the Mitsubishi engine for this car is actually derived from the Mitsubishi Mirage R5 program. The 4WD system, transmission and even engine management was built seperately by independent firm from Europe.
The reason why MEM not using any Malaysian company to the groundwork for the Iriz R5 program is because there isn’t any! Yes. We don’t have any company to to these kind of parts that follows the rule of FIA specification book.
We dun have any cuz we have own pipu who look down on own works & creations. Pitiful isnt it?
even though we do, it didn’t interest them at all. not all Malaysian firm willing to take risk on something related to motorsports like this.
even we’re lacking on sponsorship to do motorsports event here. sad…very sad…
so just move on and let the expertise do the work.
cannot make proper car want go race….apa la ini
oh dearie me. I am very surprised at the level of ignorance of our petrol heads on the economics of Motorsports. I really don’t know where to start. Macam ni lah… kita kan semua pandai. Cuba Google tgk. Honda kan memang don’t own a single % in Mc Laren and yet try find out what their F1 budget is. Jangan naive sgt la Bai… nobody chooses a car purely because it’s so damn “good” . Mcm Harith Iskandar ckp… jangan percaya apa budak Sarawak report ….saya bagi contoh ya supaya org celik sikit mata. Jgn nk counter oh mellar ni mellar tu. Awak tau kan VW is either no 1 or 2 and yet they pulled out of Motorsports a few years ago. Yes Motorsports sells cars but like people repeatedly point out it only works if ur name is Ferrari. Nampak ke P2 Motorsports? How many cars did they sell again? Ye… satria s2000 tu mcm terre ler but there isn’t a market for 2 door cars in Malaysia and satria is worst selling Proton now. Tau… nampak hawtz tp orang x beli sayang oi. You know what, I am a motorhead but I’m not going to waste my life writing more….This good piece or article with varied comments. Kipidap. Owai….
P2 of course cannot enter rally, corner sikit dah terbalik
P2 Motorsports? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha