Click for hi-res image
The Proton MPV will begin on-road testing from the 12th of September 2008 onwards, so we’ll be able to spot it on our local roads and hopefully get some nice clear photos possibly from mid-September onwards. It will be launched to the public in March 2009.
Proton sources have confirmed that the Proton MPV will initially come with the 125 horsepower Campro CPS found in the highline GEN2 CPS facelift. The car will ride on 15 inch wheels which should be easy on the fuel consumption as well as tyre change bills as smaller tyres are cheaper. 125hp is far from sprinty on a heavy vehicle especially with all 7 seats occupied, but it is still more powerful than the 1.3, 1.5 and 1.6 litre engines that almost all B-segment Japanese MPVs have to make do with.
A turbocharged Campro engine is said to be in the works but according to inside sources if any other engine options other than the CPS engine are to be available for the Proton MPV, next in line is more likely to be a turbodiesel engine. In fact, Proton may have played a part in (successfully) lobbying for the recent drop of diesel road tax rates to the same level as petrol road tax rates.
Above is a rendered image by Theophilus Chin based on insider information including some photos of a finished Proton MPV model that have been circulating in e-mail inboxes. Some of you have definitely seen it already by now. Some details in the rendered image are correct so you can have a “preview” but others are intentionally left different to prevent any legal problems.
The actual car will have a much sharper and sportier front end which will remind you of the Lotus APX. I am also unable to post up the finished model photos as they were taken inside private properties and not public roads, thus leaving anyone publishing it open to legal problems.
Look after the jump for two more shots of Theo Chin’s rendered speculation, or click any one of the related stories before for more exclusive details on the Proton MPV.
Related Stories:
Proton MPV: exclusive initial details and specifications revealed!
Proton MPV sketches preview production model
First sighting of Proton MPV test mule on the road
Click for hi-res image
Click for hi-res image
