Archive for Malaysian Makes

Proton invited a few Persona Elegance pre-launch booking customers from East Malaysia to the launch of the new Persona Elegance at their COE headquarters by the KESAS highway yesterday. They were also here to visit Proton’s plant, Proton’s test track and of course the launch itself. It’s all part of the My Proton Journey program.

But anyway just in case there are other Persona Elegance customers who would have liked to have watched the presentation by Datuk Syed Zainal, here’s a video recording of the launch for you to have been there ‘virtually’.

Click here to read the rest of VIDEO: Datuk Syed Zainal presents the Proton Persona Elegance facelift at the COE

UPDATE: Since we first published this article we’ve received more information on the new Persona Elegance. The changes go beyond just an aesthetic make-over. We already know there’s a new bodykit, front grille, bumpers and new LED tail lamps. But beyond that, here’s what’s different:

• The seat backrest angle has been changed to offer better comfort.
• Extra soundproofing material has been added to pillars to improve interior NVH.
• Despite power output and torque being the same, a source has indicated that the engine should feel livelier and more responsive. We’ll try to get an initial impression from the showrooms over this weekend.

The original story continues below…

We just got back from the launch of the facelifted Proton Persona, which is officially called the Proton Persona Elegance. Available in three trim levels – Base Line, Medium Line and High Line – the Persona Elegance is powered by the familiar 1.6-litre Campro IAFM engine with 110 bhp at 6,500 rpm and 148 Nm of torque from 4000 rpm. Buyers can choose between a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual, but the High Line model only comes with the auto ‘box.

Although output remains, the Campro IAFM in the Persona Elegance comes with a new 32 bit ECU from Continental, which also supplied the previous 16 bit version. According to a Proton source, the new 32 bit ECU has more capabilities compared to the older 16 bit version – capable of more inputs, you can configure more parameters, and it can also interconnect with more systems such as “talking” to a Body Control Module such as the one in the Exora.

It is more of a future-proofing and cost-effectiveness move. Torque and power output remains the same as before. Firstly, Siemens VDO have been moving their global ECU manufacturing to 32 bit being the minimum, so it is not feasible for Proton to continue ordering 16 bit ECUs when the 32 bit version can be had at a far more competitive price. This move is also in preparation for the new Project Phoenix engine that we will soon see in Protons, which will require the capabilities of the new ECU.

There are a couple of changes to the exterior. As all of you already know from our previous reveals, the Persona Elegance comes with a new rear lamp cluster, now with LED brake lights. The nine LEDs are arranged in two rows – four up and five down. All trims except for the Base Line come with a bodykit, slim rear spoiler and foglamps, although the turning lamps on the side mirrors (illuminates in a cool light bar form) and chrome door handles are standard across the board.

Up front, the facelifted Persona uses the same nose as the Gen 2 CPS along with its “black out” headlamp housing, but with a different grille design. The Proton logo and its “wings” is pushed up to the top of the grille while the Gen 2 CPS has a central emblem. The 15-inch rim design is also new, although the 195/60 size of the tyres are unchanged. As before, the Base Line makes do with steel rims and hubcaps.

Inside, the most apparent change is the replacement of the previous custom designed audio head unit for a conventional single-DIN unit, once again by Blaupunkt. The USB compatible unit should be easier to operate than before with minimal and large buttons, and all trims but the Base Line get steering wheel controls. The meter cluster graphics are also new, now with white numbering and red needles plus a red inner ring, much more “premium looking” than the plain orange dials used before. Proton also says that the angle of rear seat has been changed for improved comfort.

Medium and High Line cars get a GPS navigation set stuck on the windscreen, driver’s seat height adjuster and electric side mirrors. Only the High Line gets leather seats and trim (Base and Medium Line sports a new fabric material), cruise control and remote release for the trunk.

Safety kit wise, the High Line comes with ABS and EBD, two airbags and two pre-tensioner seatblets. Out of this, the Medium Line only gets a driver’s airbag and pre-tensioner seatbelt, while the Base Line gets none of the above.

Here is the price list for the Persona Elegance:

Base Line (M) RM46,499
Base Line (A) RM49,499
Medium Line (M) RM52,999
Medium Line (A) RM55,999
High Line (A) RM59,499

Proton’s latest is available in two new colours – Chiffon Green and Bronze Garnet – in addition to silver and black. Brilliant Red is a colour exclusive to the High Line. Now in showrooms and ready for booking, the Persona Elegance comes with a 2-year/50,000 km manufacturer’s warranty plus a 3-year/125,000 km extended warranty programme – that’s a total of 5 years.

Pictures from the launch this morning, studio images, a video and a full scan of the brochure showing the equipment list of all variants are after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Proton Persona Elegance facelift officially launched!

Perodua aims to increase its purchase of local parts to RM4 billion this year, as the market leader anticipates higher sales for 2010. The company purchased RM3 billion worth of parts in 2008 and 2009. More than 130 local vendors and suppliers will benefit from this development, revealed Perodua chairman, Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin. “We are projecting sales of 176,000 units this year from 166,700 units in 2009,” he said.

Bernama reports that the Rawang based company has invested RM97 million on facilities for R&D and more than RM1.5 billion on model development over the past 13 years. It added that Perodua’s strategic partnership with Daihatsu has allowed the local firm to tap into the “technologically advanced facilities and manpower expertise of Daihatsu”.

Perodua also has plans to expand across ASEAN. “Thailand offers huge opportunity while we plan to increase current exports to Singapore and Brunei,” Asmat said. Besides those nations, other export markets include United Kingdom, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Fiji. Perodua also exported components worth RM27.3 million to Japan, Indonesia and Pakistan last year.

At the same press conference held in conjunction with the visit of Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir to its plant, MD of Perodua, Aminar Rashid Salleh was quoted as saying that “the Myvi will undergo a facelift this year”. Another facelift? The current Myvi was refreshed back in August 2008, three years after Perodua launched the car in Malaysia. Perhaps the boss was trying to mean a “new Myvi” based on the second-generation Toyota Passo that made its domestic debut last month? That seems more likely, but we’ll see!

Source

The new facelift for the Proton Persona must be really close around the corner (like seriously close) as a whole truckload of the freshly updated Persona was spotted on the NKVE today without any camo or any kind of covering at all!

The new tail lamps can be seen in their full glory – gone is the circular design of the past that originated from the GEN2 and in place of them are new LED tail lamps, but of course we can’t see the LEDs lit up here, although we’ve already seen those in the past in a spy video. The new Persona has a sporty bodykit fitted and what you can see in these shots are the side skirts, a rear lip, and a bootlid spoiler. There’s probably a front lip too to complete the package but it’s not visible here.

This trailerload was spotted on the NKVE near the ‘Grand Canyon’-like area that cuts through the hills. It was probably coming down from the Tanjong Malim factory heading towards Proton’s Centre Of Excellence headquarters in Shah Alam. You can click the two thumbnails above for high resolution versions.

If you would like to get a glimpse of what the front looks like, check out our previous spyshots where we snapped the car at a Petronas station in Sepang.

Naza’s new Chevrolet distributorship has been made official earlier this week, after it signed a Distributor Sales and Service Agreement with General Motors for the Chevrolet brand here in Malaysia. Naza is now the sole and exclusive authorized distributor, while Cergazam which was previously the temporary ‘custodian’ of the brand will continue on as a dealer.

The dealership network for Chevrolet currently stands at 8 in Malaysia, and Naza plans to increase this to 18 by the end of this year, including 5 Naza-owned dealerships. All outlets will be 3S outlets, which means when you buy your car from the dealership, they will also be able to support your servicing. Certain brands have a mix of 3S dealerships and pure ’sales’ dealerships where you would have to go somewhere else for your servicing needs.

The existing Chevrolet line-up will remain for now, but the first new car to be launched soon will be the Chevrolet Cruze 1.8 with the 6-speed transmission. Naza and GM are also discussing the possibility of CKD operations at Naza’s Gurun plant in Kedah. Naza will also honor the existing warranties of Chevrolet cars sold in Malaysia through the previous incarnation of Chevrolet, a JV between GM and DRB-HICOM.

In other Naza related news, Naza Automall (along the Federal Highway) will be extending its hours from its previous 9am to 7pm hours to new opening hours of 9am to 10pm, an extension of 3 hours past the usual operating hours. So if you’re stuck in the Federal Parking Lot Highway late in the evening you can detour and check out some cars.

Remember the Satria Neo Unleashed with hitz.fm event last year? Proton and hitz.fm actually organized an event where avid autocrossers can try their hand at the Satria Neo. You drive through a straight line and obstacle course, and whoever clocks the fastest time wins a prize!

This year the challenge is back in Danga Bay Johor, and the event is even bigger this time. There’s not only a challenge for the Satria Neo but for the Proton Saga as well! Here’s the full lowdown on the activities happening this Saturday the 6th of March 2010 beginning from 4pm to 1030pm:

• Saga Ride & Handling Challenge – 25 participants
• Satria Neo Ride & Handling Challenge – 25 participants
• Test-drive activity (Satria Neo, Saga, and Gen2)
• PROTON Mini Technologies Display by R&D
• LOTUS Showcase (performance cars)
• Sales Activity (Satria Neo Saga, Gen2)
• Parts and Services display (genuine parts)
• Merchandize booth
• Demo performance by LOTUS
• Satria Neo, Saga, Gen2 Club gathering & car showcase
• Games and quizzes by Hitz.FM’s DJ and announcers
• Closing act by Artistes (Pesawat & One Buck Short)

As you can see above, the Ride & Handling challenge is open only to 50 participants – 25 for the Satria Neo CPS and 25 for the Saga. Participants need to have a valid driving license and need to fulfill the rules and regulations, terms and conditions, and signed indemnity form of the event. Interested person can register at the counter when the announcers announce the time for registration (4.00pm – 4.30pm). All participants will go through safety and course briefing handle by professional track safety instructors. Participant will be guided / supervised by professional instructor during the laps to explain about the cars and to ensure the safety of the participant/ public during the laps.

The first place winner of either category will win RM500 and a Sony Ericsson F305. The second place prizes are RM300 and a Canon 480 digital camera. The third place winners will get RM200 and a RM500 Padini Voucher.

As for the test drive activity, Proton has set up a special course for you to be able to try out the car’s handling instead of a regular showroom test drive where you probably just drive around the showroom area. So if you’re in the market for a Proton sometime soon you may want to test drive the car at this course as well as a regular showroom drive so you can try how the car performs in both worlds – both under hard driving conditions and in a neighborhood.

If you book your car on the day itself there’s a low downpayment scheme and other promotions available. I don’t know what they are right now so you’ll have to pay a visit to the event to find out! Also, Proton Parts Center will be having sessions to educate the public on how to differentiate the original parts with non-genuine parts, and the causes and effect of using non-genuine parts.

A professional driver from Lotus will be showcasing the driving demo using their cars to highlight the capability of the cars’ handling. As you know Lotus cars are gokarts on steroids – usually people reserve that term for MINIs but these Lotus cars are the real thing. There will be opportunities for a taxi ride with the cars together with the driver.

Satria Neo, Saga and Gen2 club members will be there to display their cars at the event.A contest will be held to award the most outstanding car for each category. The criteria of the selection of the winner are exterior condition, paint job, decals, stickers, rims, interior cleanliness & practicality, and modification changes. Of course you’ll probably expect some really fast “Campro Turbo DIY” cars there or even some with MIVEC or GSR swaps, but engine bay will not be evaluated as Proton are not promoting any changes made to the engine. Judges will be appointed from Proton managements, the artistes and professional drivers.

Other than that, the public can also participate in any games activities on that day such as a be mini futsal challenge, team activities, and others. These games will be conducted by Hitz.fm announcers Natalie and Jin and they will also be having quizzes. The closing performance will be a performance by One Buck Short and Pesawat, which will start after the demo performance by Lotus mentioned earlier.

So this is something for you to check out this Saturday if you live in the south. RELA will be in charge on that day to handle traffic and parking. Just remember to bring a bottle of mineral water as I’ve been informed that Danga Bay did not give permission for the sale of F&B during the event so you’ll have to bring your own.

Italdesign-Giugiaro have uploaded a video presentation of the new Proton EMAS Concept on its website. You can watch it here streamed from local servers. The video has a little technical presentation in it, showing how the interior dimensions were designed to be similiar to that of a C or D segment SUV, etc. Hope you enjoy it!

Click here to read the rest of Proton EMAS Concept Video Presentation

Here we have it, a massive 53 photos of the new Proton EMAS range of concepts, live from the floors of the 2010 Geneva Motor Show! Look after the jump to check out all the photos. For more details on the Proton EMAS Concept, click the link to read our previous launch story. We’ll be back with more details if there are any more to be gained from the show floor. For now, enjoy the photos!

Click here to read the rest of Proton EMAS Concepts: over 50 live images!

Proton EMAS3

Proton’s range of concept hybrid city cars have been officially unveiled in Geneva today and we now know that they are called the EMAS, the EMAS Country and the EMAS3. For non-Malaysians reading this site, EMAS basically means gold in Bahasa Malaysia, but in this context it also stands for ‘Eco Mobility Advance Solution’. The cars were unveiled at Italdesign Giugiaro’s booth by our ex-PM Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who so happens to also be Proton’s advisor.

The EMAS is the 5-door 4-seater silver hatchback that we first saw. The other two models are the EMAS3, which is a three-door 3+1 seater for city driving, and the EMAS Country which is for country driving – that’s the model with the SUV styling and raised suspension. The concept cars were designed by Italdesign-Giugiaro to fit the description of a compact car with the passenger room of an SUV.

Proton EMAS

The EMAS range of vehicles all run on a common platform that can spawn some other body variants such as a small van for short commercial trips around the city. The chassis has a wheelbase of 2,590mm (the shorter EMAS3’s wheelbase is 2,035mm). Imagine a small zero emissions and silent van used by Pos Malaysia to deliver your mail and parcels! The batteries are positioned somewhere at the centre of the car. The Lotus Range Extender engine is mounted at the front.

It’s basically a 1.2 liter inline-3 engine that’s designed to run only specifically as certain RPM ranges, since it does not drive the wheels directly but only generates power to recharge the batteries. This means it does not necessarily have to rev very high. Drive torque is provided by the electric motor. So it is not surprising that the 1.2 liter engine’s peak power is 51 horsepower at a very low 3,500rpm.

Because the engine does not have to rev high, Lotus can design it for a lower redline and certain parts such as valve springs and etc do not have to be built to tolerate higher speeds. This can save weight and cost – and the result is an engine that weighs only 56kg according to the original specs. But in any case, the specs that was unveiled here is actually slightly more powerful than what Lotus initially announced when they introduced the range extender engine. The original Lotus Range Extender press release quoted two different power generation points depending on load – 20hp at 1,500rpm and 47hp at 3,500rpm. The engine can run on gasoline, ethanol, methanol or natural gas.

The electric motor outputs a continuous power of 45kW and a peak power of 75kW. The motor’s torque output is pegged at 240Nm at peak, and does not require the use of a gearbox, so the motor drives the rear wheels through a fixed ratio. 0 to 100km/h tales 14 seconds, the car’s top speed is 170km/h, and one battery charge’s worth of range is 50km before the internal combustion engine needs to kick in to recharge it. You can also charge the battery via an electrical outlet as it has plug-in capabilities. A full charge is said to take 3 hours with 240V 13A power point.

The interior (which you can see above – we’re in the midst of getting better pix) is said to feature two TFT monitors in the center mounted at a concave angle. The right hand monitor shows the speedo and various other vital statistics of the car such as the hybrid system energy flow diagrams, while the left hand monitor handles the in-car entertainment and communication settings, including a browser for internet access. A third display located beneath the center console is a touch screen display that allows you to control various car functions.

“The unveiling of the concept cars today reflects the long-term strategy we have in matching global automotive standards as we expand and reinforce our presence worldwide. We strive to listen to our customers to ensure the development of a global car that meets customer’s requirements and expectations. The aim is to produce the global car for world market in the future,” said Proton managing director Dato Syed Zainal. According to DSZ, the car is between 17 to 24 months away from production, so we’re looking at a 2012 to 2013 launch date!

We’ll be back very soon with some more info from our man Danny on the floors of Geneva with more live photos of the car (live photos now uploaded) as well as perhaps some videos. Look after the jump for a full spec sheet as well as product images.

Click here to read the rest of Proton showcases the EMAS, EMAS Country and EMAS3 trio of concepts at Geneva 2010!

As the ‘father of Proton’, its only right that Tun Dr Mahathir’s brainchild occasionally updates him on the progress of the company from time to time. Tun Dr Mahathir probably gets to see lots of stuff happening behind the scenes that will only come to our knowledge months or years later, but thankfully for us he blogs so sometimes we get juicy bits of information.

The ex-PM was in Europe lately visiting a few Malaysian-related ventures such as Tony Fernandes’s Lotus Racing, the Lotus Factory, a Petronas-owned lubricant plant and finally Italdesign Giugiaro, the Italian design firm that has had a hand at developing the new Proton concept cars that will be unveiled at Geneva in just a few hours time.

According to Dr M, Italdesign-Giugiaro was developing a new small car (likely based on the Proton concept to be unveiled today) and an all-new Proton Persona. About 20 Malaysian designers and engineers are currently there to work on the projects with the Italdesign consultancy. Man, I wish I was there to see what was being worked on!

He also managed to test drive a turbocharged Proton Exora, the Tesla Roadster and the Lotus Evora. It looks like the Exora Turbo is ready to be driven. It was also revealed in December 2009 by Datuk Syed Zainal himself that there are some Proton Exora Hybrid prototypes running around in Lotus UK, using technology developed in collaboration with Lotus and various hybrid-related component suppliers like battery manufacturers. At that time, DSZ said the hybrid Exoras would be shipped to Malaysia for further testing latest by early 2010. But there was no mention of these Exora hybrids by Tun Dr M.

Read Tun Dr M’s full blog post here. Stay tuned for more updates from Geneva from this blog where two Malaysian-based car manufacturers would be showcasing their latest – Bufori and Proton.

Perodua’s new MD Aminar Rashid Salleh unveiled to Utusan Malaysia that we can expect a new Perodua Myvi somewhere around April 2011, with a Myvi SE to be launched a couple of months later around June 2011. He also revealed that a new 1.5 liter variant of the Myvi is in the works. This makes sense since they are already making the transverse-install front wheel drive 1.5 liter 3SZ-VE engine for the Alza, why not put it in the Myvi?

Apparently the new Myvi will have a new look. It’s actually about time for the Myvi to be refreshed, so Perodua is pretty much on schedule for a typical 5 year lifecycle with a facelift in the middle. The Myvi was launched in May 2005 and after 5 years, time for a replacement in the first half of 2011. If you remember, in mid-February we saw the Myvi’s Japanese cousin refreshed with a new look. Frankly, I don’t expect the Myvi to look 100% like that model as with each new rebadge product, Perodua has been moving away further and further from the JDM model’s exterior and interior.

I feel Toyota/Daihatsu has been slowly moving their JDM models to target specific niche markets with very tailor-made products. They have so many little cars based on the same platform over there in Japan, and from the marketing material of the new Passo/Boon, it’s quite obvious that the car is now targeted towards young ladies. In Malaysia, the Myvi is a unisex mass market car, so I’m expecting both exterior and interior styling to differ significantly in the details, while generally keeping the same shape.

Look at the related link below to find out more about the new Passo.

Related Posts:
2nd generation Toyota Passo launched in Japan

Click here to read the rest of New Perodua Myvi coming in April 2011 – range includes 1.5 liter version?

Only just over 20 hours left before the new Proton Concept is unveiled to the world at the Geneva Motorshow in Switzerland. The Proton Concepts teaser website has a new photo uploaded now, showing both the SUV-styled three door version and the silver 5-door hatchback version that was first unveiled. Here’s a recap on what we know of the twin concepts so far:

• The two concepts are a creative collaboration between Proton, Lotus Engineering and design firm Italdesign Giugiaro.
• The hatchback version will have five doors and four seats that are independently adjustable and slide-able.
• The SUV-styled version has increased ground clearance, 3-doors, and it can accommodate 5 instead of just 4 thanks to the interior space saved by the omission of a B-pillar.
• The car was designed to offer interior spaciousness of a D-segment car with the exterior dimensions of an A-segment car.
• The hip point is designed to be at just the right natural and ergonomic height – you do not get down into the car like a short sedan or “climb” up into the car like an SUV.
• It is 3,550 mm in length. That is about a good half meter longer than the Toyota iQ but shorter than the Savvy.
• It uses a special chassis with a raised floor that allows installation of the combustion engine at the front and batteries in the rear
• The cars will use a Lotus Range Extender series hybrid drive. A combustion engine will be mounted at the front and will be used only to recharge lithium ion batteries. The batteries power a motor that turns the wheels.

Click here to read the rest of 20 hours to Proton Concept live unveiling!

Proton Holdings Berhad has just appointed a new board member today – Mr Behara Venkata Rama Subbu, also known as BVR Subbu in short. 56 year old BVR Subbu has vast automotive industry experience, notably for his leadership in Hyundai Motors India where he last served as President. Before that, he was attached to Tata Administrative Services from 1978 to 1996 where he formulated various strategies in the areas of marketing, sales, service, spare parts and vehicle finance.

After 9 years in Hyundai Motors India, BVR Subbu left to take on advisory roles in several automotive outfits based in India. He also currently holds a directorship in Avasarala Technologies Ltd, a specialised component and module manufacturer. As you can probably guess by now, BVR Subbu’s appointment should have something to do with an effort to enter the huge Indian market that cannot be ignored for any upcoming automaker these days. He knows the ins and outs of the Indian automotive market and his experience will be valuable.

“BVR Subbu’s extensive experience in the Indian automotive market will be valuable in our plans to expand our business in India. With BVR Subbu on our Board, the Company is now more equipped in its effort to focus on PROTON’s long term export strategy, particularly in the ASEAN, China and India markets,” said Proton chairman Dato’ Nadzmi.

The appointment of BVR Subbu could be linked to the previously rumoured talks between Proton and Argentum Motors. We found out back in February 2008 through Indian media that Proton was talking to Argentum Motors about contract manufacturing or sourcing of components. Subbu is one of the entrepreneurs behind Argentum Motors.

Argentum has a plant in Surajpur, Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India, which it acquired from GM Daewoo. Argentum’s business model is similar to that of Magna. Magna makes components but also manufactures the whole car for other companies. However, Argentum Motors has yet to seal a deal with anyone, with the latest potential customer being GM (who owned Argentum’s plant in the first place) in a deal related to the Chevrolet Tavera.

Proton and Giugiaro has put up a website over at protonconcepts.com, showing the new Proton Concept Car along with a countdown clock (about over 5 days to go) and a simple question – would you like this to be the future of Proton?

Needless to say, right now the vote count is about 99% in favor of “Yes”. at time of publishing. But it made me wonder – the website is called Proton Concepts, and that’s plural. So there must be more than one concept right?

Autocar once again has the scoop on Proton’s Geneva concept and now we know that there are actually at least two body variants. One is the silver 5-door that we’ve previously seen, and another is this maize-ish yellow 3-door version with SUV styling.

The one with the SUV styling has no B-pillar, has a thicker C-pillar and features some kind of roof mounting device. The alloy wheel design is also different. We also get to see the rear end of the concept cars for the first time. The photos appear to be Italdesign Giugiaro press material but I can’t find it anywhere else on the internet.

According to Autocar, the SUV-styled version has increased ground clearance, and it can accomodate 5 instead of just 4 thanks to the interior space saved by the omission of a B-pillar. The image above refers to Giugiaro demonstrating that the Proton Concept has the interior space of a C/D/SUV segment vehicle, without the larger luggage space of the SUV of course, we are talking about interior space.

Look after the jump for one more photo showing seat hip point.

Click here to read the rest of More Proton Geneva concept pix appear online!

Proton MD Datuk Syed Zainal had a few things to say at a dinner in Hethel today. He and Tun Dr Mahathir are actually in the UK. The ex-premiere had previously visited the Lotus Racing factory and now they are at Group Lotus, where Tun Dr M was briefed on various Lotus projects including the Lotus Range Extender Engine that will make its showcar debut in the Proton Hybrid Concept set to appear in Geneva.

Here are a few details that DSZ revealed:

• The Proton Campro Turbo engine will be available by year-end or latest by early next year, and will be a feature in all Proton’s cars (likely only the larger ones). Looks like it’s on schedule!
• The Lotus Evora will likely be launched in Malaysia by the end of March. Price is unknown yet but it’s still a question mark whether we can expect Malaysia’s tax structure to show mercy to a sports car made by a company owned by Proton. DSZ says Proton is still working with the government on this.
• He declined to reveal any details on a new global strategic partner, but mentioned that discussions not only involved Volkswagen but with Mitsubishi and Renault as well. Proton have worked with both Mitsubishi and Renault before.

Actually if you drop by the COE next to Kesas you can already see an Evora there in the parking lot and it looks pretty good in real life. It’s not pure sex on wheels like a Ferrari but it looks more like a weapon, or at least that’s the impression I got in metal.

Source: Bernama