Proton poised for debut

IT has been a long time coming but Proton is set to produce a worthy successor to its Satria GTi. The Malaysian car maker will show off the GTi descendant when it unveils the R3 Satria at the Melbourne Motor Show later this month.

The hot hatch version of the Satria is destined for an appearance on local roads inside the next 12 months.

While the company is not prepared to divulge any details, the high-performance Satria was developed by the company's special vehicles and motor sport arm R3 - Race, Rally and Research - under the eye of former Lotus engineer and race driver Tengku Djan Ley.

“We have very much focused on the Lotus philosophy of performance through light weight, utilising intelligent powerplant solutions while minimising weight and enhancing Satria's already impressive handling,” Mr Ley says. Expect the R3 Satria to have under body upgrades to match the exterior tweaks, with the R3 engineers targeting a “significant” power increase over the standard Proton Satria.

The Malaysian hot hatch was thought to be a chance of getting a small-capacity turbocharged powerplant through one of the joint ventures mooted with Peugeot or Volkswagen. But given the lack of progress on that front, Proton looks like it will be keeping the powerplant in house, but forced induction is likely, as is a power figure above 120kW.

The R3 Satria will share Proton's stand at the Melbourne show with the company's new Persona sedan, which goes on sale in April.

The new Persona, based on the Gen2 Hatch platform, is powered by Proton's 1.6-litre engine with 82kW and 120Nm, using either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

Proton Cars Australia managing director John Startari says the presence of the R3 Satria on the Proton stand at Melbourne will be a huge drawcard.

“The question we get asked all the time is when will the next Satria GTi be here,” Mr Startari says. “The first-generation GTi carved a real niche for itself and it is a bit of a cult car."