Proton Motorsports’ Satria Neo S2000 has been featured in an Ashes Special episode of Top Gear, which ran earlier in the week. The episode pitted the UK Top Gear stooges, Messrs Clarkson, May and Hammond against their Australian counterparts, Ewen Page, Shane Jacobson and Steve Pizzati.
Two identical Satria Neo S200s were supplied by MEM, the British-based firm which prepares and runs the Satrias for the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, as part of the vehicle inventory for the show. The episode had a five-event challenge including a drag race, drifting, a race with cars on top of each other and sheep herding on motorbikes. Er, yes, sheep herding.
The cars were featured in the final challenge, which was run around a mixed surface track at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire. For this, Hammond was the co-driver in the UK team’s Satria Neo S2000, with The Stig driving the car. For the Australians, Pizzati drove and was navigated by Page. Courtesy of a 15.1-point lead, the Australians started the stage 15.1 seconds ahead.
They were caught and passed by The Stig and Hammond, who crossed the line ahead to seal a repeat of England’s famous Ashes victory earlier this month.
“It was great to work with the team on this, and even better as the UK won! The guys all seemed to really enjoy the cars and it was good to see The Stig behind the wheel of a Satria Neo S2000,” Proton Motorsports team principal Chris Mellors said.
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AI-generated Summary ✨
Comments about the blog post show pride and enthusiasm for Proton's Satria Neo S2000, with many praising its performance, handling, and the UK Top Gear's recognition. There is admiration for the engineering, especially the chassis and Lotus input, and some skeptics debate the car’s platform origins, with explanations clarifying it is based on Proton's own platform and not Mitsubishi. Enthusiasts express hope for a rally version for road use, while others criticize Proton's global progress compared to Korean brands. Several comments highlight the car's impressive speed and handling seen on Top Gear, with some noting that the episode features James May, not The Stig, behind the wheel. Overall, the sentiments are positive, highlighting a sense of national pride and appreciation for Proton's achievements in performance car segments.