Paul Tan on the Automotive Industry
Here we go yet again – the Proton P3-21A continues its road-testing, today out in the rain. Reader Mnazri.tan was on the PLUS highway a while ago when the evaluator went past him near the Pedas area. He says that his friend’s Saga BLM was having a hard time catching up in the wet conditions, doing around 150 km/h, adding that the test mule looked very stable and poised at speed.
The folks at Proton have certainly been busy this past week, with the launch of the turbocharged Exora Bold undoubtedly taking all the focus and time. So much so, the handover of the second vehicle that underwent the My Proton Makeover programme came and went quietly. Unlike the first one, there was no press event to shout the return of Sashideran Radha Krishnan’s 17-year-old Proton Wira back to him, which took place last Wednesday.
We’d asked for photos of the occasion, but amidst all the Exora Bold-related flurry of activity, they never arrived. But not to worry – we’ve managed to get some photos of the handover, courtesy of Proton’s Facebook page.
We caught the car in its final stages of prep the week before, and to recap, the original white of the car has been replaced with a metallic blue shade, which Proton motorsports division head honcho Tengku Djan Ley says was chosen to best complement the matte silver wheels picked for the car.
There’s a new rear wing, which the car never had, and the front bumper has a lip taken from a Satria, and highlighted in silver. The Wira also features a lowered ride, courtesy of a new APM suspension specified by the R3 boys. The car had a brown interior, but after the rework is now in black, with leather featuring prominently, on the dashboard, seats and door cards, highlighted by blue stitching.
The Wira gets a Momo steering wheel, and the centre console panel, instrument panel trim and new gearshift console cover (taken from the Satria GTI) is finished in the same shade as the external colour. From the photo of the alloy wheel, it looks like the idea of changing the 1.5′s rear drums to discs didn’t come to be.
We’re sure that Sashideran must have been absolutely chuffed to get back NAK 59, his ‘darling Wira’ all spruced up. So, on to the next makeover recipient, which should be announced soon enough. Stay tuned!
Welch Motorsports, which ran a Proton Persona built to Next Generation Touring Car series specifications in the second half of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, is set to expand its presence in the championship to two NGTC-regulation Protons for the full 2012 race season.
The 2011 car began participation just after the mid-season break, debuting at Snetterton, driven by Daniel Welch, the son of team principal John Welch. It’s the second NGTC car to compete with the TOCA engine, which is built by Swindon Engines – the NGTC-spec “unbranded” turbo direct injection electronic throttle engine has a 2.0 litre displacement and makes over 300 horses, with the option for an overboost as well.
The current Proton Persona BTCC car has in the meantime gone on display in the UK at Surrey-based West End Garage’s showroom in Woking. As the supplying Proton dealer for Welch Motorsport, WEG will have the BTCC vehicle on show for a bit, and has sent us some photos of the car on display.
While the hot news and attention is undoubtedly on Proton’s star of the moment, the turbocharged Exora Bold, work continues on as usual for the Proton boys in road-going evaluation of the upcoming P3-21A.
The car has been spotted a number of times, notably back in August and most recently doing a high speed test run on the Karak earlier in the month. The mules were on the road again yesterday in the Klang Valley, clad as usual, and reader Abid took some shots to add to the growing image inventory of the car.
UPDATE: Read our first impression Proton Exora Bold Test Drive Review!
The refreshed Proton Exora has been the most talked about car of late, with spyshots, unmasked units being transported and leaked brochures all out in the open. With this as background, Proton has finally released official details of the facelifted MPV, confirming much of the details we already know.
The long-awaited Campro Charge Fuel Efficiency (CFE) engine powers the Exora Bold Premium and the range-topping Exora Prime. This CFE engine puts out 138 hp at 5,000 rpm and 205 Nm of torque from 2,000 to 4,000 rpm from 1.6 litres. Paired to a CVT gearbox, top speed is 185 km/h and 0-100 km/h is done in 13.3 seconds. Claimed fuel consumption is 7.8 litres per 100 km.
As our eagle-eyed Anthony spotted, the CFE isn’t just a Campro with a turbo bolted on. The stroke of the engine has been shortened from 88 mm to 86 mm, resulting in a smaller displacement of 1,561 cc vs the Campro CPS’ 1,597 cc.
“Boosted with the more efficient 1.6L engine, customers will experience powerful performance which is comparable to a 2.0L engine, with much lower fuel consumption. The additional power kicks in to provide more pulling power when accelerating or overtaking. In short, it’s what you can aptly describe as a ‘pay-as-you-go’ engine, which gives you more ‘vroom’ for every litre of petrol used,” says Proton Group MD Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin.
Besides the two CFE+CVT variants, the Exora is also being offered in Bold Executive trim (1.6L Campro CPS with manual or torque converter auto) and non-Bold Standard trim, which is only available as a manual.
Spec-wise, the Bold Premium CVT gets leather seats, a leather-wrapped steering, front fog lamps, rear spoiler, electric foldable wing mirrors, cruise control and reverse camera with rear view mirror LCD. The latter is similar to the system seen in the Kia Forte 6-Speed.
What then is the Exora Prime, you ask. The Prime is the highest spec Exora, sitting above the Bold range. It’s a six-seater with the centre row made up of two Captain Seats. On top of all the Bold Premium features, the Prime gets walnut finishing on the centre panel, gear panel bezel and air con vents (all these are in a sportier “liquid silver” finish in the Bold Premium), metallic beige door switch covers and inner door handles. Also included are head rest monitors and satellite navigation.
On the outside, the Prime is set apart by 16-inch gold-finished alloys and a new Absolute Brown colour. Take note that the featured images here are of the Bold Premium, NOT the Prime.
There will be a “Proton 4 U Day” from December 16-18 (this weekend) at all Proton sales outlets nationwide, with door gifts for those who test drive the Exora Bold. The Exora Prime however, will not be available for test drive, and can only be viewed at selected Crystal Showrooms in Juru (Penang), Plentong (Johor) and Mutiara Damansara (PJ).
Last but not least, prices. Proton has officially released a tentative OTR price list, where the 1.6 Standard MT retails for RM59,998, the Bold 1.6 Executive MT for RM70,998, the Bold 1.6 Executive AT for RM74,998 and the Bold 1.6 Premium CVT for RM79,998. The Exora Prime is priced at RM88,998.
Click here to view the high res official brochure with full specifications.
Proton Exora Bold Premium
Yet more on the almost-here Proton Exora Bold. Reader DewaSemut has kindly sent in hi-res scans of the latest Exora brochure, and there are plenty of details about the vehicle. Externally, the Exora Bold features a new radiator grille (for that “fierce” look, the brochure says!), rear smoked combi-lamps as well as reworked bumpers and side skirts.
The Bold 1.6 range actually encompasses three models, the Executive AT and MT CPS-equipped versions as well as the Premium CVT, which is the eagerly-awaited turbocharged CFE model. That’s a total of three different gearboxes available with the Exora Bold.
The Premium CVT, as previously announced, has 138 hp at 5,000 rpm and 205 Nm at 2,000 to 4,000 rpm for output numbers from its 1.6 litre CFE mill, which is partnered with a CVT gearbox, and adding to those numbers are a 185 km/h top speed, a 0-100 km/h time of 13.3 seconds and a fuel consumption of 7.8 litres per 100 km.
Interestingly, the specs table reveals that the new CFE engine is not merely the regular Campro engine with a turbo bolted on. The stroke of the engine has actually been shortened from 88 mm to 86 mm, thus resulting in a smaller overall displacement of 1,561 cc versus the Campro CPS 1.6′s 1,597 cc displacement. We’re looking forward to having a chat with the engineers to find out why exactly this change has been made.
The 1,486 kg MPV features all-round brake discs and rides on 16-inch wheels and 205/55 series rubbers, compared to the disc/drum and 15-inch, 195/65 tyres combi found on the CPS variants.
In terms of features, specific to the Premium CVT are leather seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel, front fog lamps, a rear spoiler, electric foldable wing mirrors, cruise control, a reverse camera and rear view mirror with LCD viewer.
Meanwhile, the Premium CVT’s centre console trim comes in a chrome-like polished finish called Checked Cubic, and its air condition vents are done in Liquid Silver (the CPS models’ are in Tempest Grey). Lastly, the Bold range comes in five external colours, these being Cocoa Grey, Elegant Brown, Plum Red, Genetic Silver and Solid White.
The official introduction of the Proton Exora Bold is imminent, by the looks of it, what with stocks of the turbocharged MPV making their way to showrooms across the country. Reader Ian snapped some photos earlier today of a transporter carrying a batch load of Bolds on the North-South Expressway, heading north.
In the past week, we’ve seen leaked shots of the supposed Prime variant as well as what are rough draws of a slide presentation offering some details on the CFE mill, and shots such as these of the vehicle. All that’s left is to have the final product arrive on the scene, and that should be very, very soon.
A constant stream of news flows past us everyday, from the mouth watering to the bizarre, and here’s one that jumped out to catch attention. Perodua recently organised and sponsored a majlis berkhatan beramai-ramai (mass circumcision ceremony) for boys in the Kampung Sg Choh area. P2 is headquartered in Sg Choh, north of Rawang.
Organised by Badan Agama Islam Perodua (BAIP) together with Masjid Nurul Islamiah Sg Choh and Hospital Selayang, the mass circumcision ceremony, timed to fit in the year end school holidays, saw the participation of 50 boys ranging from six to 12 years old.
Among the brave kiddos were sons of Perodua staff and students from schools around the Sg Choh area. BAIP Chairman Tuan Haji Noor Hashiman Sulaiman officiated the event.
The Myvi maker sponsored RM80 of the RM150 cost for each boy. A majlis Aqiqah was also held, with seven Perodua staff combining funds to sponsor a cow. Perodua chipped in with RM3,000.
Here’s to a speedy recovery for the 50 lads in sarongs!
Click to enlarge.
It’s just around the corner now, the introduction of the turbocharged Proton Exora Bold, and stuff on the vehicle is coming out of the woodwork faster than that in a leaky boat, it seems. Photos of the supposed Prime variant surfaced a few days ago, and now, what are very much presentation sheets containing engine details have come about, source unknown.
Click to enlarge.
As bandied about earlier, the performance specs for the CFE mill are 140 PS (or 138 hp) at 5,000 rpm and 205 Nm at 2,000 to 4,000 rpm, and there’s a graph that charts the torque curve of the mill, compared to the normally-aspirated CPS engine as well as a 2.0 litre NA engine. Another sheet offers a numerical output comparison against the CPS as well as two competitors, the Nissan Grand Livina 1.8 and Toyota Innova 2.0L.
Click to enlarge.
We’ve also finally managed to confirm that the CFE term denotes Charge Fuel Efficiency, and not the Charged Fuel Enhancement and Campro Fuel Efficient touted earlier. All been very confusing, but hopefully that’s that. Oh, and looks like someone’s been looking at too much Campro, it seems – ignore the “engine camparison” typo, if you will!
The word is out that Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus, has signed a fresh four-year contract following a meeting with parent company Proton last week. His original contract was due to expire next year. “The Proton dedication to our plans has always been solid, and the decision to extend my contract a year early is a signal of that commitment,” Bahar said.
The ex-Ferrari man came into Lotus back in October 2009. He then formulated an ambitious five-year business plan that was unveiled for the world to see at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. At the French capital, Lotus brought out a full range of sports cars that it will use to challenge the likes of Porsche. Besides the fantastic five, which ranged from the next Elise to a Aston Rapide style four-door, Lotus also has plans for a small city car called Ethos.
Of the lot, the first on the scene will be the new Esprit in 2013. Lotus is also planning to develop its own V6 and V8 engines for its future range.
To support the road car grand plans, Group Lotus is putting motorsports and racing heritage as a main pillar. This has seen it got into Formula 1 as a sponsor to Renault. The team will race next year as Lotus after a long battle with Tony Fernandes’ Team Lotus. The company also returned to Le Mans and is involved in IndyCar in America.
