We’re reporting live from Alami Proton 2015 in Shah Alam, and here is a unique picture gallery of the “Evolution of the Perdana” showcase happening at the Proton Styling Studio. Makes for an interesting viewing, don’t you think?
While the local company previews the upcoming 2016 Proton Perdana, it has kindly rounded up the previous and existing models that wore the iconic nameplate. What we have here are two Perdana V6 Executive models and the current government use-only ‘Accordana’ in three different lengths.
The original Perdana V6s are represented here in the mildly-stretched (10-inch) Executive forms, in both pre- and post-facelift guises. The Mitsubishi Eterna-based sedan debuted the Proton Perdana name back in 1995, and remained in service until 2010.
It started life with Mitsubishi’s 4G63 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine, which offered 135 hp and 176 Nm of torque. A five-speed manual gearbox was available at launch, but was soon discontinued as the four-speed automatic transmission proved far more popular.
The original car was the very first Proton to be fitted with ABS and cruise control, and its starting price of around RM85,000 in 1995 made it a sales success. Proton sold 9,000 units of the large sedan within the first 14 months, capturing 47% of Malaysia’s “2.0 litre and above segment” at the time.
A more powerful 6A12 2.0 litre V6 engine was introduced in late 1998, giving the Perdana 148 hp and 179 Nm of torque. It went through quite a few rounds of updates, the last of which is shown here.
After it was discontinued in 2010, Proton went without a D-segment sedan in its range, until the second-generation Perdana was launched in late 2013. This time though, it was based on the eighth-generation Honda Accord, and rushed to the market as a stop-gap measure to replace the ageing Perdana V6 government fleet vehicles.
The badge-engineered model (minimal changes were done to Honda’s original design, giving it its ‘Accordana’ nickname) was only sold to the government, and not to the general public. It was announced then that a civilian version of the Perdana, also based on the Accord, would be introduced in 2016.
That vehicle, however, was promised to have its own look both inside and out, differing significantly from the donor car. Officially previewed today, the 2016 Proton Perdana seems to deliver on that account. However, it’s set to retain Honda’s 154 hp/189 Nm 2.0 and 177 hp/222 Nm 2.4 litre i-VTEC engines – for now, at least.
The two stretched versions of the Accordana seen are more interesting – one more so than the other. The shorter of the two – stretched by 18 inches – are currently used by government ministers. As you can see, it offers a huge amount of rear legroom, but not much else over the standard version.
Much more intriguing is the longer version, which has been stretched by 32 inches between the wheels. Only five of these vehicles have, and will ever be built, with this one in particular belonging to none other than Proton Chairman Tun Mahathir himself. Note the “Proton 2020” number plate.
Tun M customised the vehicle to his liking, adding on OZ Racing Italia 150 wheels and a completely bespoke rear cabin. Open the rear doors and you’re welcomed by a striking all-red interior, complete with an integrated Nespresso machine.
The two individual seats are also electrically adjustable, with the controls mounted on the door cards, Mercedes-Benz-style. A Bose home theatre audio system can also be seen. Subtle it certainly isn’t, but it sure is impressive.
Up front, Tun M’s car appears to be a test-bed of sorts for Proton engineers, as it features a centrally-placed push start button, an electronic parking brake and get this, a Jaguar-style rotary gear selector. Here, a more fitting set of black seats are used to match the dark dashboard, but not without a dash of scarlet.
So there it is, the “evolution of the Perdana.” Do tell us what you think of this showcase in the comments section below.
Old Proton Perdana V6 Executive
Standard Proton Perdana 2.4P
Stretched Proton Perdana (18-inch), for Malaysian ministers
Stretched Proton Perdana (32-inch), customised for Tun Mahathir
2016 Proton Perdana preview
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So, which car you guys rebadge this time?
So Najib’s bird is shorter than Tun Mahatir ones? Opps, sorry, i mean car. Typo.
drooling….dont give up yet….not yet
Now we know why they need the r&d budget
“…complete with an integrated Nespresso machine.”!!!!!!!!!!
Wow..cool gear knob
Not sure Tun M speced the inside himself or some 20-year old petrolhead decided to go all red there.
I had the 1st gen perdana sei manual… Definatly the best proton build quality wise… Always regret selling it… Super reliable…. Very solid….
It’s not a bad car, the limo, but why waste money on stretching the Honda? I mean, I’m sure with that money, you could probably get an A8L or S400L which will definitely satisfy your legroom desires and even more so. Just saying. Is it wise to pay more just to show how patriotic you are with your local marque car, the Perdana (which isn’t even local)? Sigh.
where is the Petronas E01?
well done proton banana
Another rebadge??? This is the so-called capability of Proton?? After so many years…..and still resorting to copy, rebadging….Adui
Even 5 years old could see this car is an out dated Honda Accord….
I enjoyed the Perdana showcase. It’s too bad they couldn’t get the original 1995 Perdana too… but don’t mind me, I’m just nitpicking. xD
I thought we could view the limo up close… unfortunately, they didn’t allow that… for good reason; kids, KIDS ! If you were there, you’d know what I mean.
Oh, and a message to the adults as well; just because it’s not YOUR car, you DO NOT have a right to treat it badly. DON’T slam the doors and DON’T knock on the panels. I swear, there were so many retards messing up all the showcars, 24/7. No manners, no courtesy, no brains; “Hey, I’m going to sit in the car JUST BECAUSE I CAN !”. Seriously, please don’t come to Alami Proton 2016… these kind of people disgust me. Proton should charge an admittance fee for Alami Proton 2016… it will keep out the riff raff. Those who really want to learn and appreciate Proton’s developments won’t mind paying RM10 or RM20 per person. At least those who genuinely care about Proton can ACTUALLY ENJOY the event, instead of putting up with uncivilized morons all day.
I’m impressed with the gear knob and somehow I’m impressed with the electric memory rear seats too since it’s.. Proton. I know that kinda sounded like I’m looking down at Proton’s capability.. but I wonder if the upcoming Perdana will actually have that gear knob and the electronic memory seats? That would be nice to see. Well I’m just wondering. I still love and support Proton and in fact, I’m loving my 3 months old Iriz!!! I feel like Iriz was a hug step up for Proton. Goodluck Proton! 2016 is gonna be an exciting year!
Not just rebadge, but stretch other brand’s car and call it your own? Malukah Proton?
Cannot match LGE’s one lah
Not sure if Tun needs 32inches extra legroom. Its overkill even for yao ming…
30 years and in the end rebadging an older generation Honda Accord. 2nd hand accord is like myvi in other countries selling dirt cheap like USD12K can get already. But trust proton can expect sales of 20 units a month la. Cos nowadays nobody wants to buy a proton. Proton knows if they make a car from ground up and sell for over 100k nobody will buy. So they rebadge an established model. However they fail to realise they’re rebadging an older generation model which currently is only selling 75-90k on the market and under Honda brand, not proton. Proton cannot expect same level of prestige as Malaysians have lost trust in this brand already. Just take a look at inspira, although also rebadge Lancer, but the refinement and quality is still inferior 2-3 years down the line compared to the stock Lancer, and RV has dropped tremendously compared to the Lancer itself. Proton also didn’t realise the new generation Accord has been out for 2 years and they’ll only launch the older generation accordana in 2016, which will be 8 years old to be exact because the older generation was launched in 2008. They also didn’t realize proton will sell this accordana for the next 5-10 years to recover their cost by which Honda Accord would launched the newer generation in 2016 and 2020, of which they’re still selling 3 generation older accord. If they sell above RM75k, they can kiss goodbye to profitability because nobody will buy. Probably just 20 units a month. Driving a 2002 Toyota Vios has a higher prestige than driving a 2015 proton preve because proton brand doesn’t command that level anymore. Thus if you drive a 2008 Toyota corolla or 2006 Honda civic you command higher respect and prestige than a new 2016 Proton Perdana
Muhammad,you are right,spot on.
perhaps proton executives to study the topic PERCEPTION in detail.
Since the POWER WINDOW FAILURE during its early days,the PERCEPTION on protong has not changed much.
You can design it like the Vios or City,but once the horrible CVT gearbox and CAMPUR engines are installed,only Protong fanboys will buy.
They like to dwell in dunia khayalan thinking the car will get better by the day,apart from the favourite 10 year slavery loan.
They are divergent and always trapped in a Maze.There is no way out.Only the undertaker is the answer.
Wonder where is Proton Putra..the two door sedan..
Now we know why they need tongkat
Yesterday went there @ about 4.30pm..by then the area was closed. It is untill 5 pm only..i drove 1hour…1hour to see it myself.proton event manager pls announce properly it wasnt ALL AREA closed by 7pm. Wasting my time. Blom beli proton dah rasa kena tipu.
Good effort proton. But pls improve ur buttons & dials design..those rear seat button is a ripp off w210 mercedes. The gear dials looks nice but hope it will look better when real one coming out. Of coz i understand its just a market test or something. But by look at all proton models like exora,perdana,iriz all the button do look cheap wth large size & large font like.kipidap proton.but i had enuff wth ur carnival.
Geli siot see Proton n Perodua! Yuckzzz!
Ba-na-na
Am I the only one that read – Anaconda?
Power window issue is NOT perception. It is a FACT in my 7 yr old Persona. Have change power window 3 times. Now after the 3rd gear & motor change, it’s making a loud sound like gear jump whenever the window winds down all the way.
well i would say, the best proton car was in the past. like my 1999 proton saga. till today still running. just body works is worn out . that’s still ok for a 14 years old car .
my friends Saga BLM, 2 years, this button broken, acc not working well, no pick up (auto) .
i do think that the quality is no more there, the car they building are great, but quality is at extreme poor .
KIA, even its new to the market. they are making cars with quality which can match BMW or high end once .
Even My Volkswagen jetta is no match to a kia quality .
for me, vw much better in handling and comfortable while driving compared to kia. used to drive kia rio before this, no satisfiying for me. hehe
I dun know which Kia model you actually comparing about?
I drove Cerato & Jetta before.. vw Jetta have better in term of handling and performance. I think Jetta can pick up even faster than Cerato.
Hope proton can transform. So far it is amazing. Last time bought a perdana, 85,000km consume 2 gearboxs & fuel consumption is terrible. Others is ok. Sold. But my brother bought preve cfe as his second car, that is amazing car. Good fuel consumption, durable & very less complain. Can be seen proton improve a lot on the previous problems such as power window. Ride is stiff but taking corners are much more better than the perdana, more space than perdana & much much more powerful than the perdana although the performance stated in the brochure are lower in hp & slightly better in torque for the preve. Overall is double the quality of the perdana. The preve serve as highway traveller on pan Borneo highway, no problem at all except 1 gt radial tire gave up.
siok sendiri..
Is this supposed to be a rear-wheel driven car ? Looks like there’s a drive shaft, judging by the rear seat images.
we know how much proton was forced to pay bufori and dreamedge to make this limo. it would have been mich cheaper to get a RR for Tun. this is how unprofessional companies approach tun and suck all money from him. seriously the coffee maker is from bufori geneva cars which was rated one of the top ugliest cars in Geneva. why Tun did not use other companies who could far better work. did Proton RND needed bufori to make a car? why not asking Leepu to join you too????
The most important now is provide a comfort car for TUN Mahathir to start his mission to restructure the country. This just a little of money company to some overspending issues.