The Proton Saga will be 35 years old on July 9. On that date in 1985, prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the first national car based on the Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore. Three and a half decades on and the Saga is still around, so we’ll be getting a 35th anniversary special called the Black Edition Saga.
But before 35 came 25, and Proton celebrated the Saga’s silver jubilee with this – the Proton Saga 25th Anniversary Edition. We covered the launch of this LE back in 2010, and here’s a throwback.
Basically, the Proton Saga 25th Anniversary Edition is a very fancy, fully-loaded Saga BLM, which was the Saga of 2010. Introduced in 2008, the second-generation Saga was an in-house effort powered by Proton’s own Campro engine. Limited to 25 units naturally, the 25th Anniversary was priced at RM54,500 in 2010.
That’s a rather eye-watering price when you consider that back then, the range-topping Saga SE went for RM44,548, and a Saga M-Line could be had for RM41,548. Today, the Saga tops out at below RM40k.
The almost RM10k premium that 25 people paid in 2010 bought more than just badges (there’s one on the bootlid) and bragging rights. The white car with a black roof and boot (punctuated by the non-black boot spoiler and number plate garnish) wore a bodykit that’s similar to the SE’s, and exclusive eight-spoke alloys. The exterior was finished by side tiger stripe stickers running the full length of the car.
Inside, the special Saga stands out with tan brown Nappa leather, which is also found on the door cards. The leather steering and gear knob get stitching in a matching brown hue. Also, the dials have a grey background, which sets it apart from the white on the SE and black in the regular spec.
Cosmetics aside, the Saga 25th Anniversary Edition comes with extra equipment over the SE such as a front passenger airbag (which fills up the “tissue box hole”) as well as rear power windows. This brings the spec to Australian-market Proton S16 levels, although back then ABS wasn’t available for the model, whether here or Down Under.
Do you remember seeing one of these silver jubilee Sagas? Stay tuned for the 35th anniversary special called the Black Edition Saga that will be unveiled this week. What cosmetics and special features do you want to see on it? The Saga facelift was introduced in August 2019, and you can refresh here.
GALLERY: 2010 Proton Saga 25th Anniversary Edition
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with myTukar.
Old stock and change it a bit than sale it to customer!
Proton that is bad move.
What are u smoking brother?
1.Its 2010 model and BLM was only out in 2008. Its not even a facelft…its an LE.
2.Its only 25 units…..really desperate to shift 25 unit….at premium price too?
3.Do u understand the difference between installing a proper Nappa leather seat+trim and installing a PVC seat cover then calling it with some fancy leather term?
Seriously what are u smoking…pls share with me.
It is very unfortunate that many old paultan posts have broken image galleries
20th anniversary = Waja 20th anniversary edition
25th anniversary = Exora, Persona and Saga 25th anniversary edition
30th anniversary = just promotions …
Because it’s solely under DRB-HICOM, the business wrecker
I am even more sad as we dont have manual gearbox anymore…
With manual, maybe…just maybe R3 can do a proper R3 version on some model.
the first saga rolled out, can it be classified as classic cars?
Well…it is a classic car but might not be a classic car under JPJ regulation.
With RM54k you can get Proton Persona 1.6 high spec or Perodua Myvi high spec
With RM54k you can get 3 Proton Saga in 1985. So..
With RM54k can get 1 terrace house @ Shah Alam in 1985. So…