Dany Bahar has revealed that the Lotus City Car concept has been confirmed and will be launched as a production car in October 2013. He also mentioned that the car would be a project together with Proton and another car manufacturer, which leads us to believe that Proton and Lotus have found a suitable third party to share in the development costs of the vehicle, or at least provide a platform.
According to Bahar, there will be three cars spawned from the project – one for the Asian market (this should be Proton’s), one for the European market (the third party?) and a sportier version (this is the Lotus for sure). So who might this third party be? There has not been any official word yet but according to Autocar India back in November this year, the Nissan V platform might be used to underpin the EMAS range of cars.
Since Nissan already has a V platform car – the March, if indeed rumours that this project would use the V platform is true, the European car in question could be some form of next generation Renault Clio perhaps? 2013 would be actually a good time to launch it since the current car launched in 2007 (and facelifted recently) would be due for replacement by then.
3rd quarter 2013??
sounds tooo late for me
Agree, is too late already for another 3 more years then only can go into production.
At that moment, if the EV technologies (or other) get mature, then this city car have lose the strength of the fuel saving factor.
cool news… but I can’t wait for 2013.. 2012 can aa.. hmmm lotus version..
nice to see that finally someone want to share proton’s platform in europe…usually it’s always the other way around :)
hopefully this is a sign of things to come for Proton…next step would be to improve engine technology i guess
errrr, it the other way around. Proton going to share other people platform, but just the platform. the overall design still look like EMAS.
sad to hear that “Datsun” will also be “protonified”….. T.T
Paul, good assumption and reasoning, if the 3rd party is indeed renault, that would be good. possibility of sharing diesel engine as well i presume.
Fantastic !! Dany Bahar again.!!
Might as well put him in charge of the management
of Proton and offer MSS to DSZ and his advisor.
Good to hear on the progress of Proton but 2013 is too distant in the future
and still has lots of but’s and if’s.
but dont forget, its the proton management who put danny bahar where he is in the first place. ;)
2 years for a car to be built/designed from ground up sounds reasonable….
i was expecting the city car to come into production by end of next year. its quite unusual for a concept to aged a a few years before they got into proper mass producing. of course there are concepts which remains concepts till today – mostly because of they were study projects/ unrealistic designs, but EMAS or whatever u call it, is a realistic and do-able project.
the whole world got excited when it first got covered in the show. all of us in malaysia ejaculated happily.
why not bring a poorer version for malaysia/ east asia earlier than 2013? i mean, put like 1.3cc or 1.0cc engine and it will go puff. i believe 1litre engine is enough to power such a small, not so heavy thing. personally i would buy it as second/city car if they got it roll out in near future. its cool. its fashion. its the age of cool, fashion car, these days.
as for the third party, my best bet is either the company is from china or india.
the chevy volt was mooted as a concept back in 2007 and only managed to be mass produced as a 2011 model…..and proton is not a company with resources as big as GM so 2013 is actually a realistic target
the chevy is hybrid/EV type while the above vehicle is…. we dont know how its gonna be powered. if u are to be bothered to read my posting, i did include about powering this car with internal combustion engines. 1.3 or 1.0 litre small engine. so comparing this volt with what i proposed is totally out of the window, mate.
what so wrong if the good old internal combustion power be used in that little car? apart from proton currently dont have any small engine in its line up (which make the idea of buying Augusta few years ago – before penguin sold it for a fiver – really good and forward thinking), i dont see any hindrance for them to roll out a production ready proton city car. name it EMAS or Proton Lady Gaga or something, i’m so gonna buy it. if they dont have the engine, do tie up with somebody. this must have been thought even BEFORE they asked Italdesign to pen the car.
see? they got a sure buyer in me if they get it out in middle of next year. unit sold = 1. even before the tires arrive at the production factory!
and if u are to be bothered to read further there was a ruling by the american motor industry authority that it was ILLEGAL to sell any vehicle without the EPA fuel economy label. as recent as november this year, the american government still has not know how to accurately measure volt’s fuel economy. without the EPA label, it is ILLEGAL for the dealers to start selling the car. and mind u, this problems have been going on since mid 2008. and before u start asking, of course GM did their own homework and the volt expect to meet EPA-estimated range of 230 mpg. but they were bugged by the EPA label.
the other reason of its delay was the bailout of the big three in america. i suppose u realized that the financial problems all around the world made it very difficult for GM to proceed with the volt as much earlier as they would like. plus without the bailouts i dont believe the big three would survive and we wont be seeing the volt
reading is a hobby which definitely gonna pay u back in ur life. start one if u havent ;)
The main reason Emas are born is to be EV/REEV car. If you want 1.0L or so gasoline engine, just buy Savvy.
ah AnakWatan beat me to it….this car was born as an EV/REEV vehicle thus the platform won’t be similar to any cars Proton/Lotus ever had…and building platform takes time….though yes, the do plan to have both Combustion engine only and EV/REEV version of this car but the point is it’s designed/conceptualized as an EV/REEV vehicle
if they wanted to build a small city car with 1.0/1.L combustion engine only, they’ll probably just take the Savvy platform, shorten it a bit and make it a 2 door, produce it tomorrow and you’ll be happy…..or why not buy the Savvy or Suzuki Alto now, that should fit your bill i suppose….and why the MV Agusta argument again..i wonder how many small Suzuki cars or Suzuki Maruti for that matter are currently using Suzuki motorycle engines….Suzuki Alto…now with Hayabusa engine :)
and dude if you even bother to read automotive blogs all over the world, like what you’re suggesting to me, you’ll realize that up to late 2009, they Volt was still running as a Chevy Cruze test mule….the EPA issue only popped up like late this year…4 years after the concept was 1st proposed….
and lastly no, not all big 3 received federal bailout money, only GM and Chrysler did…Ford survived on its own though it did receive federal grant created to help the auto industry to come out with small and fuel efficient models…while yes the bailout somewhat slowed the volt production do you think GM would have manage to get this car in production in 1 or 2 years?
ok since you want a combustion engine vehicle for comparison…take the Proton inspira….a direct copy of the Mitsubishi Lancer…no new platform, no new engine, no new nothing except for driving dynamics tuning, some configuration tuning to make it suitable for malaysian market and some cosmetic changes….can you recall how long ago that we heard about it? yes, it was way back in 2008 when we first heard about it….and it was only produced as a late 2010 model….how hard is it to re badge a model right?
u are not suggesting plonking motorcycle engine into that tiny car bay, arent u? that would be silly i believe, but by acquiring that company, it presented us great chance learning how to make a proper two stroker/ three stroke engine for small city cars. and of course we would have made the technology ours.
and ah, of course now we got manufacturers creating efficient two stroke engine. famous example would be Lotus’s Omnivore. but before u mention it, yes it runs on alcohol. i hope u wouldnt next suggest we go stocking JD for the omnivore. lol
nevermind that epic failure no longer warrant further discussion because its no longer ours. it just my wound bleed again thinking how a small, powerful engine would be perfect to power that concept. and now back to EMAS.
of course i was born for the EV/hybrid powered mode of engine. but it wouldnt be a problem if they were to put the old good internal combustion in it. of course it would sell hot. i thought 2013 comes to late. this is the hour for such car. the chick factor is there. if u were to believe in mayan calendar, 2013 we are all gonna be in hell. lol. but yeah if all of sudden they found a reliable frugal engine to be put into that, then expect me to head the queue booking the car. yeay!
as for volt, the problem surfaced back in september 2008 (cnnmoney.com, 2008) and even at that time the discussions between GM and the EPA hve been going on for sometime. the problem only intensified in late this year where they GM gonna push for december sale. good EPA isnt PUSPAKOM. if no then sure start sale 2009.
as for inspira, i have to inform u that i am dissappointed nontheless i understand the reasons behind the collaboration. the 2 year long wait wasnt due to production matters or research reasons as the add ons i.e suspensions/face designs etc etc are not that hard to do. again i am not belittling proton. i wish i had a proper car company to back my claim. but in the reality i dont have.
but yeah, like i say. get a 1.3 litre good engine. put in into the proton lady gaga. and maybe price it at … 70k or 60k, expect me to put down dp. COOL
motorcycle engines like the hayabusa have been shoe-horned into Caterham specials, sometime two together. not so hard proton given their prowess, if a niche carmaker like Caterham can do it.
2013 is ideal
and you should think more after you read..
I think he is got his own car manufacturing company lah he can say like that. Come and join Proton engineers lah and try to design a car… or much easy asked him to design a part only lah… see if he can do… think before you say
i wish i have a car making company. ;)
I think he is got his own car manufacturing company lah he can say like that. Come and join Proton engineers lah and try to design a car… or much easy asked him to design a part only lah… see if he can do… think before you say lah
:P
If they do bring a poorer version, people will definitely bash non-stop…
then if they are going to update that poorer version with a better version, they will get bash again for not coming up sooner….
the vicious cycle….
Maybe Proton is trying to make it right the first time. Hence, the delay. Besides, only now they get somebody to share platform. Sure they need time to do proper research on the platform.
i dont know why it been delayed again. but i suspect it is because of the platform. when you calculate again, time needed for constructing a new vehicle is about 15 to 24 month. if they start approximately early next year then it should be safe to say that the roll out of the car is around 2013.
lambatnyeeeeeee…. last time said 2012.
ni sebab baru dapat org nak share platform kot…deal sebelum ni tak jadi…
a question, electronic car is safe to drive in Sibu,Sarawak, a place ‘famous’ with flood????
no car is safe to drive in a flood….do u know any?
drive the Lotus Esprit that can convert into submarine like James Bond :)
It’s safe as long as it’s not too deep, the Chevrolet Volt did some testing through different water depths and at different speeds, you could find it on youtube.
The power of Proton.
Yesterday Mitsubishi ,Today Renault-Nissan, Tomorrow == ???
So diplomatic yet cunning.
elee.. 3rd party could be RENULT!
The Power of Proton.
Yesterday Mitsubishi, Today Renault-Nissan, Tomorrow == ??
So diplomatic yet cunning.
The other could be Perodua via Toyota/Daihatsu? Najib is in favor of a merge, this could be it. The merge proposal is done, knowing Najib style, he loves to merge companies making them bigger.
Good point there !! Why look so far when you
can source it from your own country.
Proton should merge with a big company. Since Volkswagen no more already, Renault is a next potential. Just let perodua continue joint venture with Daihatsu. Then Malaysia will be a place where east meets west.
which is good to bring every single of them whenever one of the many crumbled.
read SIME DARBY.
OK…Keep my car for other 3 more years…
can place booking now?? haha,, kidding.. start to search Lotus emblem in ebay,, haha
Let see if us mankind can live through 2012 or not.
We’ll consider this can if we’re still alive in 2013.
well, proton should stop making cars, build super carrier ships instead… if they believe about “2012” like you do.
i agree.. proton should build i like in the 2012 movie since we can see many people believe the 2012 end of mankind.. event our ahli parlimen also see like believing..
now i hope MP will present a new topik, about build a supercarrier..
Yea. agreed. Anyone vote for the Noah the Ark in 2012 made by Proton?
If it’s Proton produce, anyone dare to board? Proton’s Noah.
Lotus should use the name Emas lol.. since a lot of their cars (maybe all?) starts with the letter E.. Esprit, Elan, Elise, Exige, Evora, etc.. LOL XD
Emas ? That’s a big no no.. It will sound E – mess ….XD
haha.. maybe.. but maserati did have the merak.. xP
2012 = Persona R
2013 = Emas
but i dont know what will Proton be planning for next year.
anyone have the answer?
=)
Exora turbo
new serius of engine
New family of engine and transmission for 2011
2011 = turbo & hybrid exora
campro turbo maybe…? this one long overdue oredi. Just hope they do it right the first time. :)
from what i heard, persona r will be launch q4 next year and the car will be rolling out in disguise for testing early next year.
next year maybe;
new variant of campro–campro turbo
new gearbox
wondering if could get this lotus below 50k..
if its proton, might be..
but this is lotus :p i guess not.. huhu..
2011=Perdana R
i am waiting for saga fl 1.6 turbo
From the looks of the car & also the Toyota influence in most Lotus cars (Engine), i think mostly Toyota IQ platform will be shared…
Great news. Now Proton is truly turning global. I too predict it will be Renault but I doubt it will be Clio. Clio is in hot hatch range which really doesn’t suite the profile of Emas. Don’t forget that under Renault, there is also Dacia, cheap European car that fascinate James May so much.
2013..
that time P2 also have their new models:
MYVI superior edition (with new color!)
VIVA extreme limited edition (with new wheels design)
-_-‘
Is it possible for proton to rebadge any lotus cars? coz lotus cars aren’t cheap. rebadge the exige or evora.
Proton shall be happy to have Lotus. This is what we called innovation and materialization. However, hope that Lotus will not turn into Proton’s culture!..Emas is still very far from Lotus City Car…is a good start though…
2 years is not too far away..expect this could be the everyday driven car!
obsolete model on 2013..what a bad marketing!!
Well done Danny.
Don’t forget 15 mph inside lotus factory k
3rd party is obviously toyota. the car looks like an iq…. haih copying again. shame.
y take so long….? anoher 3 years… its very long time, and maybe by 2013 this concept model is not competetive already…