Proton today launched a very special version of their Neo CPS – the Proton Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing. Priced at RM115,000 it has various equipment upgrades including an engine tune-up. Now producing 145 bhp and 168 Nm of torque, the R3 engine is a substantial 25 bhp and 18 Nm up on the standard CPS motor. 0-100 km/h is now done in 9.2 seconds and top speed is 200 km/h, compared to 10.5 seconds and 190 km/h for the standard Neo CPS manual.

RM115,000 is a lot of money to pay for a Satria Neo, but this doubled price tag over the standard Neo CPS comes with much more than just a carbon fibre bonnet and Lotus Racing emblems. There’s some serious performance upgrades that should make it quite a hoot to drive, and these improvements are not just reflected in the vital stats.

More vital than these improved figures however are things like revised ratios for the five-speed gearbox. According to a source in R3, the Neo R3 Lotus Edition will rev till its 7500 rpm redline in EVERY gear, and all sorts of torque curve issues have been been banished. We look forward to a test drive to confirm this exciting revelation. When the head of the R3 department is one of the best drifters in the world, you can be sure that the division’s products are not just about power and acceleration. Handling is a big part of the equation, and bearing the “Lotus Racing” name means that this car has to deliver some thrills behind the wheel.

There’s some delicious sounding hardware in this car. First up are the Öhlins DFV (Dual Flow Valve) fully adjustable coil-over suspension with spring and damper rates specifically tuned for this application by R3. The Neo also gets stiffened rubber bushes and revised suspension geometry. All these are claimed to deliver “racecar-like direct steering input and cornering precision”. The saved weight from the carbon hood also means that there’s less weight over the front axle, which is good news. This car is 62 kg lighter than the standard Neo CPS at 1150 kg.

If you peek behind the 16-inch Advanti alloys wrapped with 205/45 Bridgestone Adrenalin rubber, you’ll spot the four-pot AP Racing calipers gripping the front discs. The rear discs make do with single pot items. Other than the engine tune-up, you also get R3 Titanium Exhaust Headers, R3 Alloy Underdrive Pulleys, an R3 Tuned Exhaust System, and an R3 Carbon Fiber Airbox. These equipment including R3-tuned camshaft profiles contribute towards the power upgrade.

R3 has plans to make 25 units of the Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing Edition. Our sources say that 11 units are already accounted for, and we reckon that Proton will have no problems selling off the remaining units. They will of course come up with a second batch if response and demand is sufficient.

There’s a whole load of more material after the jump including loads of hi-res product photos, track action photos and live photos from the car’s unveiling in Pavilion today.





http://paultan.org/2010/03/30/proton-satri...s-racing-145hp/

fuyooo...same price as lgls...lalalala...

kena tapau la LGT

fuyoo hebat proton

for a 1.6 NA, 145hp is awesome. plus lotus tuned suspension, 200kg different, manual transmition...
for sure can tapau us. or at least tapau me because i'm not a good driver...

for the improvement by R3

for killer price tag

bro... aku dah naik last 2days ago.. terbaik!!!! reminds me back at my Satria GTi... hahahaha.. the handling power woo... feel the car very SOLID-!

Beli aje lah En Obotott....
Boleh buat main drag ngan track... hehe!

Yes the power is awesome for a 1.6 NA....but suprisingly could not match the old satria GTI 4g93 1.8 with only 124hp in terms of 0-100kmh times. The Gti did 7.8 secs (MMC ecu,1999-2000 model) and 9.0secs(Seimens ECU,2001 onwards). Even the old civics(manual) 1996-1999 with small vtec(125bhpl), plus few other models could achieved 9secs ZTH.......maybe this NEO is better in the region of mid-high rpm.....but think it is too expensive...

I remember my friend's satria GTI(2000 model) tapau his friend's mitsubishi Mivec 1.6 (175hp) all the way from 1st till end of 3rd gear(just a slight win)...

Widg,
Aku if 115K baik aku beli imprezza, bole aku kawan dgn Bal, Justin,Reezal47,Falcon & Zimi.

Nice car. Nice performance. Cant wait to see LGT vs satria Neo Lotus drag.

Imprezza for 115k? Baik aku beli LGT lol..

ini baru aku setuju... baru la berbaloi labur duit tu...

nak kena beli scooby dulu ke baru boleh kawan? huhuhuhu...

mayb that's d reason proton only producing 25 units of them....prolly anticipating not much 'sambutan'.....
but good effort tho....
the car looks yummy.....

where to test drive?

aik bro falcon pun dh alumni ker...?? kekeke.....

cepat je

aritu pelancaran bro... er.. xbleh test drive... i gune org dalam vip... hahahaha

lagi mahal dari GLS aku...
ish...ish...
but, very nicely done...

pod, kau beli je la satu...

xnk la...
dah sama harga 2ndhand skyline GTT bro... hahaha..

rege 115k bleh beli Evo 7 seken.. huhu, berlapis lapis kene tapau.

hahaha...the price is on the high side for a 2 door hatchback...with nothing to shout about apart lotus handling...and lotus winning a GP in F1 nowadays? well if can win a GP might worth it la the price tag...lalalala...

Lotus Handling, Ohlins absorber, AP Racing brakes....
The rest "Tin Milo"....

sometimes performance is not just about ZTH or HP.

This car can be driven real fast.

warne and design line kuning tu, mcm smart je pada lancer~

beli boley xpi problem byk la ckit

Sesape yg nk beli kereta baru (proton) Tunggu la akhir bulan5 (wajalution) and hujung tahun ni (New Perdana)

0-100 km/h is now done in 9.2 seconds ..

bro, 9.2 sec??? i tot our lgt clock at 7.8 sec 0-100??????? correct me if im wrong....

mcm2 ada sagalution,xoralution,wajevo,sonalution..... taniah per oton

bro... bukan sagalution la... new hot item... sagooby...... saga jadi scooby....

pod...dah macam team kedah la plak..piala malaysia.hehehhehe

woittt... pandai demo buat mulut yerrr!!! aku masih setia dengan lancer biruku.... itu ajer yg mampu nak pakai...

for me, this might be part of proton marketing strategy. they might sell only 25 units, but then they can sell many R3 product...

tapi this Neo using CPS engine.. dah xgune engine R3 dah.. hahaha..

of course. R3 never have any engine. Satria R3 use mitsubishi engine. just add some accessories and performance parts...
later on they can sell R3 parts...

Must test drive to check if the $$$ is worth it ...as for brother fick, i totally agree as LOTUS is on the rise again.... i was hoping for also a wording which says Now Every One Can Fly.....

Bodykit look nice, but d color...yeekkk...macam taik lembu...why not put on more racy look colorla...

Our stock LGT can only clock 10++secs on paper......7.8secs was done once by one of the bros before but if not mistaken his car was no longer stock ....and the test conditions were unkown (downhill road maybe? or/and using smaller overall wheel diameter which makes the speedometer climbs faster than it should)....it is prob hard to find a perfecrly flat road to test

nice... reality ke ?

Baik beli Satria Neo non-CPS (RM40k++)and then bolt-on a turbokit(<rm10k) with low-boost pressure set-up; suspension and brake upgrades(<RM5k)....surely can tapau this new NEO.... much cheaper and will look nicer too...

Aku sokong 100%

its meant to be a collector's item for enthusiasts and a showcase car for proton so its not for the average person on the street.

personally I appreciate the gutsiness of proton R3 - this probably deserves the title "my first lotus".
(not the savvy)

I wonder if they remembered to lower the seats so I can fit into the cabin properly....

can't wait for top gear review on this car...lalalalala...i wonder wat JC gonna do this time with RM115K value car...lalalala

I wonder what will d price be like for d new Waja mitsu....will it b cheaper or more expensive than this NEO??

i've read somewhere in this forum. Exo X is around RM84k at Qatar. maybe some other country also around that price...
if top gear know bout this neo price, they will expect this neo to be around Evo X or Mini Cooper S performance...
but then they will badly comment bout the price, and not the quality...
just my 2cent...

R3 Neo has very limited competitor in Malaysia. The qualified competitor at this price range probably is Suzuki Swift Sports with OEM Sports suspension and Optional Recaro Seats.

Others that we can fit in are probably Pug 308T, Fiat Bravo GT 1.4T, AR Mito 1.4T, Polo GTi 1.8T - remember all these CBU conti are basically >130k brand new except for Pug 308T (CKD)...and they are not really "Sports" oriented, other than the turbo. Perhaps a Pug 308GT Manual is a closed fight but the price is high at >150k.

I guess it is unfair to talk bout getting a used Evo, STi, R33, sylvia, EK, EG, Fiat Coupe, Blacktop etc as these are USED cars. They are cheap as a USED car with respected performance but the maintenance, reliability (depending on previous ownership) are not certain. One can get a Ori EK at 65k and spend another 50k to tune it up to a respectable monster but the car is individually tuned and you carry the risk of failure, insurance coverage, cash flow problem etc.

Lets put it this way: Brand New FD2R 200k vs Used GTR34 200k. Which one you go for? Again this goes back to what you really want.

Performance is not all about how fast the car can reach ZTH, or how high the top speed is.

For all the marketed competitors i listed above, i bet R3 Neo will have a better track time in SIC, with greater fun whacking corner be it in the track or midnight hilly road challenge.

The fun of driving LGT is not really about whacking the car to its top speed or have a slight win over a drag race with an AR 156/FD2 but to layan corner/road bend at an increasing speed when others are already letting go their throttle. That's where the smile comes on the face.

Same goes to this Neo R3, i believe.

Got money, sure it will be d*mn shiok to have one.

honestly, i really like neo cps. it's small and sporty...
plus the superb handling. but this neo r3, i can consider it as another fantastic sports machine...

got money all also can...can make whole garage perfomance cars...lalalala...but when wanna drive all cars...me also dunno how to answer...since got only two legs and two hands and one buttock...plus limited time...as ageing process is becoming pretty fast nowadays...lol...

agreed...! but for the neo r3, as i dun really know much about it yet... i cant agree.... but.. let's see wat is the outcome of the overpriced neo r3..... does it sounds as good as it looks???? hmmmm........

nice n powerful but + rm1000 same price with my lgt ..hehe