PROTON - KeretA KonSeP

CeritA 1

Proton has unveiled some additional information on the new concept series hybrid car they will be unveiling at the Geneva show.

Some of the text leads me to believe that this Proton concept and the Italdesign Giugiaro concept teaser on their website are one and the same.

UPDATE: Italdesign Giugiaro’s press release has confirmed that their concept car and Proton’s Giugiaro-designed car are one and the same. I’m updating this list with new info on the road via my smartphone. Check the list below for the new info. Italdesign says we can follow the development of the whole project step by step from the 12th February 2010 (probably some European timezone) on Italdesign’s website.

For now, there is no official name for the car announced yet – it is simply referred to by Proton as “Proton Concept Car” for now. Proton advisor and ex-PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will be in Geneva to launch the concept car.

Here are the released details:

• The car is a creative collaboration with Italdesign Giugiaro.
• The concept car will have 5 doors and will seat 4.
• It is 3,550 mm in length, which is approximately a good half a meter longer than the Toyota iQ but shorter than the Proton Savvy.
• The four seats will be independently adjustable and slideable.
• The car will use a series hybrid drive. A combustion engine will be mounted at the front and will be used only to recharge lithium ion batteries.
• The lithium ion batteries will drive the motor that moves the car.
• It uses a special chassis with a raise floor that allows installation of the regular combustion engine at the front and batteries in the rear
• According to Italdesign chairman Giorgetto Giugiaro, the car was designed to offer interior spaciousness of a D-segment car with the exterior dimensions of an A-segment car.
• The hip point is designed to be at just the right natural and ergonomic height – you do not get down into the car like a short sedan or “climb” up into the car like an SUV.

CeritA 2

Photo of new Proton concept appears online!

February 12, 2010 at 10:47 am by Paul Tan · Cars, Concepts, International News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Autocar UK is the first with a photo of Proton’s new concept car designed by Italian design house Italdesign-Giugiaro. The vehicle looks like a supermini with a tallish roofline, and according to Autocar it is about 3,350mm long – that’s a good 360mm shorter than the Proton Savvy. There is no attempt to look space age with ultra curvy rooflines that hurt rear passenger room – this is clearly a design that’s quite suited to go into production with some minor modifications.

The concept car will showcase a series hybrid powertrain that works much like the system that Chevrolet is using for the Volt. It uses an internal combustion engine fitted at the front that runs in an efficient powerband to recharge lithium ion batteries. These batteries then power and electric motor that drives the car. From what I can understand from the Autocar story, the internal combustion engine does not power the wheels directly. The car’s platform is a new platform that’s designed to accomodate all the necessary hybrid drive elements such as batteries in a space efficient and safe way.

Lotus had previously showcased such a system at the Frankfurt 2009 show so given Proton’s obvious connections to Lotus, the powertrain in this concept car might just be one and the same. Or it might not – we’ll have to wait for official details to find out. The Lotus Range Extender system uses a 1.2 liter 3-cylinder single cam 4 valves per cylinder engine that weighs only 56kg dry and is optimized for 2 RPM points – 20hp at 1,500rpm and 47hp at 3,500rpm. Peak torque is 107Nm at 2,500rpm.

Word is that Proton will be sending some journalists to Geneva because of this car. If Proton wants to maximize the value of the air tickets and accommodation for these journos, those lucky guys might even get to drive the car, if it is a running concept using the Lotus engine. That would definitely generate more buzz and get Proton more coverage in international publications.

As for us, we are still completely in the dark about this concept car other than whatever Autocar UK has revealed now, so we hope to bring you confirmed facts as soon as Proton says something, hopefully today!

Sumber : http://paultan.org/