Archive for Rumours

This is AutoBild’s artist’s impression of the upcoming Audi A5 due to be launched in 2008. The Audi A5 will be based on the Audi A4, and like it’s namesake will be positioned between the Audi A4 and the Audi A6. There seems to be some debates on whether it will be a competitor for the BMW 3-series Coupe or the BMW 6-series.

Audi already has a larger coupe planned in it’s line-up, the Audi A7 which will be a four door coupe that goes against the Mercedes Benz CLS. While most artist’s impressions have shown a two door version of the Audi A5, there are some rumours that there will be a four door version as well.

Proton has put up a teaser site for the Satria Replacement Model over at Desire. Teaser ads with the URL were shown at KL International Motor Show the last 3 days. The site looks incomplete though, not all the games are working. They also have an image of the SRM dashboard there. Looks nice, they’ve stuck to the standard dual-pod sporty Lotus-inspired design for the two meters, and the colour is blue.

Utusan Malaysia carried a report yesterday quoting an unnamed source that Proton would be unveiling a new Proton Waja model which would be equipped with a Kleemann supercharger system by the end of the year 2006. Utusan Malaysia’s reporters were given the opportunity to see the model for themselves at an unnamed place in Malaysia, and they took a photo of it.

Apparently the supercharged engine which we could all assume is the 1.6 Campro or the 1.8 Renault makes in excess of 150 hosepower, and the Waja’s suspension and brake system has also been upgraded. The Waja seems to have a new hood (Utusan reports this will be carbon fibre?!) and grille which looks like Volkswagen and Audi’s nose design. Abandoning the Alfa nose? Makes the car looks like a miniature A4. Other aesthetic changes include a new bumper, and wing mirrors which have signal lights on them. There is also a new logo which looks like a circle with a letter Z in the middle of it. Could it be called a Proton Waja Campro 1.6Z?

Proton head of Corporate Communications Yusri Yusuf declined to comment on the matter. Prices are apparently in the RM75,000 to RM80,000 range. Psst, by the way… since the logo has been changed to a Z, this might not even be a Proton, but a tune-up by a third party, emulating the business model of companies like Brabus or Kleemann doing up and rebadging Mercedes Benz cars.

Source: Utusan Malaysia

Related Posts:
Satria Replacement Model to get Kleemann Supercharger
Proton Waja R3 rear wheel drive

AutoBild has news on BMW’s upcoming BMW Z8 successor, as well as artist impressions of what the car could look like, as well as some other impressions on future BMW cars. More after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2010 BMW Z8 Artist Impression

There are rumours that Audi may consider developing an Audi A1 to go against the likes of the BMW MINI Cooper. It may be based on the Volkswagen Fox platform. Autobild has artist’s impressions of how the Audi A1 might look like and frankly I think it looks horrible. More details after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Audi A1 artist impression

AutoBild’s photoshoppers seem to have gotten really busy lately, with tons of artist impressions of future German cars being churned out. Their latest are artist impressions of the Audi Q3, and the Audi Q5. More details after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Audi Q3 and Audi Q5 Artist Impressions

AutoBild has impressions on BMW’s next executive sedan, the BMW 5-series. As I mentioned before, BMW is adopting a new F-code for it’s car projects and the new BMW 5-series will be designated the F10. It’s expected to be launched in 2009, with the F10 BMW M5 set to debut in 2010.

Click here to read the rest of BMW F10 5-series

There have been sightings of a small Nissan SUV being tested on the road. It is said that the new mini Murano is based on the Nissan Qashqai concept shown 2 years ago at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show.

The above artist’s impression image by Hans G. Lehmann photo syndication shows that the new small-sized SUV has abandoned the old Qashqai’s X-Trail-like front grille and has adopted the new Renault-Nissan look. It looks like a taller Nissan Versa. Note that this is an artist’s impression only, but inspired by Nissan’s current design trends.

The Nissan Qashqai is expected to debut in 2007 and will come with 2.0 liter petrol and turbodiesel engines. There could also be a top of the range six-banger version. Naturally, it will have all-wheel drive. This small SUV will be in direct competition with the Toyota RAV4, the Mercedes Benz MLK and the BMW X3.

[ UPDATE: The first test mules of the Proton MPV spotted! ]
[ UPDATE #2: EXCLUSIVE: Initial Proton MPV exterior, interior and spec details! ]

Proton is studying the feasibility of developing an MPV and an SUV, said director of manufacturing Datuk Kamarulzaman Darus. Development will take up to 24 months if the results of the feasibility studies are positive.

In such a short period of development time, it would mean Proton would be using a platfrom from one of it’s strategic partners, which could be either Volkswagen or Mitsubishi at this period of time. It could even be Peugeot.

Some interesting facts - Peugeot and Mitsubishi has a joint venture SUV program. The Peugeot 4007 is actually a re-engineered Mitsubishi Outlander. As for the MPV, it was previously rumoured that Proton would be developing an MPV based on the Volkswagen Sharan. That’s a large MPV, not a small one like the Toyota Avanza.

Details are sketchy right now, and the projects are not even approved and could possibly not even see the light of day if the feasibility studies have negative results, but at least it is something to look forward to once the Satria Replacement Model is launched. Another model to look forward to is the Perdana replacement model, which might be based on the Mitsubishi 380, or a Volkswagen Passat. Funny, when originally announced, Proton planned to launch the Perdana replacement by the end of 2005, but I guess that plan was scrapped when talks with Volkswagen broke down. The Mitsubishi 380 sounds likelier now.

Update (25/5/2006): Proton says if the projects are given the green light, it will be developing them on their own with assistance from Lotus Engineering. This would be a good opportunity to use Lotus Engineering’s Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA), in which a common platform can be used to develop a variety of vehicles like SUVs, MPVs, and even coupes. The Lotus APX Aluminium Performance Crossover concept vehicle was a demonstration of the versatility of the VVA platform. Click here for more details on the Lotus Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA).

Related Posts:
2007 Peugeot 4007
Proton to buy Passat and Sharan Platforms
Mitsubishi 380 to be exported to Malaysia

Perdana Replacement Model to be a Volkswagen Passat

Source

This month is actually a pretty exciting month for the Malaysian automotive industry even though news seems slightly dead for the past week. But you know what they say, it is always the calmest before a storm. We have 5 car launches this month. One has already been launch, that’s the Naza Sutera. Two from Toyota, another one from Naza and hopefully Proton will be launching the Proton Satria Replacement Model this month too. Then we will be able to see all the cars in full glory at the end of the month at the KL International Motor Show 2006.

Motor Trader has a teaser on the two new CBU Toyota cars that will be revealed tonight (May 16) once the press embargo is over. From the teaser images, it’s confirmed that the two new Toyota CBUs will be the Toyota Wish and the Toyota Yaris hatchback. The Toyota Wish is an MPV competing with the Honda Stream. So far there are 1.8 liter and 2.0 grey import versions on the market, but it’s not known yet whether Toyota will be offering both models here or one of them through official channels. We’ll know tonight I guess. The Toyota Yaris hatchback is offered internationally with 1.0 liter, 1.3 liter, and 1.5 liter engines but it’s mostly likely that we will get the 1.5 liter model. From the spyshots that we’ve seen so far, I think it’s the 4-door model, which will put it in direct competition with the Honda Jazz, both being 4-door CBU hatchbacks.

As for the other Naza car, the Naza NX-02 will be launched tomorrow night (17th May 2006). More details on the Naza NX-02 after the launch, including it’s official name and specifications, and most importantly price.

Now we come to the Proton Satria Replacement Model, let’s hope it launches in time to be showcased at the KL International Motor Show. It should be very soon, anytime now! There you go, one K-car, two 4-door hatchbacks, one 2-door hatchback and an MPV for the month of May 2006. Any car I missed?