A rose is a rose by any other name and you obviously won’t get too jaded calling a spade a spade, so while we’re attempting to translate the ecstasy we had behind the wheel of the RM115,000 Proton Satria R3 Lotus Racing into articulated communication, we’ll also be trying to justify its asking price because lets face it, at the end of the day that’s still serious coin for a Satria Neo, let alone a Proton.
But of course you might have noticed that the brief description of our drive time was sung in a positive tune and what a song it was.
The Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing was produced partly to celebrate Proton’s 25-year anniversary and also it’s involvement with Formula One through Lotus. And who can blame them? When you own a company famed for its handling engineering prowess such as Lotus, why wouldn’t you tie it up with your own product?
Of course the purists would cry debasement of the Lotus racing belief but from a marketing and promotional stand point, the pros do outweigh the cons.
Firstly though, this limited edition run, which consists of just 25 units, features more than the usual cosmetic enhancements seen on previous Proton limited runs. For starters, extensive weight saving is the name of the game, much aligned with the mantra of Lotus founder Colin Chapman.
That bonnet isn’t a standard unit with some carbon fiber stickers from your local Brother’s outlet, it’s a genuine carbon fiber piece that together with the fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) fenders contributes significantly to the 62kg weight saving over the standard Neo CPS.
Lotus Racing Green is the only colour the car comes in and the yellow racing stripes and trims that adorn the exterior makes it a menacing sight in the rear view mirror. The body kit consists of an R3 sculpted front bumper with a wide air dam as are the side skirts and rear bumper that incorporates a diffuser.
Twist her around to the curvy end and an R3 spoiler sits atop the boot. If taken in from its side profile, the FRP fenders with its air vents and Lotus insignia definitely adds to the car’s subtly menacing stance.
Stepping inside to the ‘office,’ it’s obvious that the interior has received minor cosmetic enhancements which lead to one of the stumbling blocks in trying to justify the car’s price. The seats and door panels have been retrimmed with Nappa leather and some carbon fiber effect inserts but it’s still the same seat found in the Neo CPS. Even the steering wheel wasn’t spared the humiliation of the carbon fiber effect details.
It’s blatantly obvious that the car was meant to be whipped, flogged, thrashed, trounced and any other indecent thing you would do to a vehicle with riding-on-rails handling on a track but unfortunately an interior that’s no better than a stock Neo CPS is a huge letdown.
There’s a sprinkling of R3 bits here and there like an R3 aluminium gear knob and pedals but its mere consolation in a battle that should have been a walkover. Furthermore, the pedals are pure aluminium with no rubber inserts whatsoever and caused our foot to slip off the brake more than once. Now imagine that happening as you’re using the car for its intended purpose, lining up corners in your crosshair and sniping them right down the racing line. Needless to say we shat enough bricks to build a small village.
The dash itself had some of its trim pieces finished in a shade of Lotus Racing Green but it was so poorly done that they should have just left it as it is. The worst part about it was that it scratched easily and due to the shade of green used it was very visible.
Now though comes the bit that somewhat justifies the asking price, the handling, and to a certain point, the performance as well.
The primary weapon of choice is a set of Ohlins fully adjustable coilovers that benefit from revised spring and damping rates courtesy of the boffins at R3. You get the full damping adjustment with just the twist of a knob. Secondary artillery consists of AP Racing four-pot calipers gnawing down on vented rotors up front.
Ride height has also been lowered to give the car a lower center of gravity. The car rolls on some serious kicks in the form of 16x7 Advanti alloys biting down on the tarmac though Bridgestone Adrenaline RE001 tyres measuring 205/45 all around. Visually, car appears a tad underwheeled due to the body kit but then 17-inch rollers would probably have sacrificed on acceleration too much.
Even the suspension bushings and geometry have been stiffened and revised to ensure the car delivers on its point and shoot handling claims. Well for over RM100k you certainly wouldn’t expect anything less.
Power still comes from the Campro CPS lump but with enough massaged out of it to guarantee a happy ending. It features R3 titanium exhaust headers, R3 alloy underdrive pulleys, an R3-tuned exhaust system and an R3 carbon fiber airbox with a K&N filter element. The biggest bump in power comes from the R3-tuned camshaft profile that is dialed in with what else but R3 adjustable cam gears.
All the Campro engines are naturally high and willing revvers and all those additions combine to raise power output to a very respectable 145bhp that is unleashed at a stratospheric 7,000rpm. Torque too has been churned up to 168Nm at 5,000rpm.
The century sprint is dealt with in 9.2-seconds and if you don’t let up on the go-pedal it will accelerate all the way to 200km/h. Compared to the garden variety Neo CPS specs of 10.5-seconds for a 0-100 time and a V-max of 190km/h, it is indeed very promising.
Our review route was a very twisty B-road with some distinct elevation alterations through some of the tighter corners, making it the perfect strip of tarmac for the car’s christening.
We went easy on the corners first to roughly gauge the limits of the car. Pushing it through the bends, it became blazingly evident that this machine was made to carve its name on the twisties. Such was its cornering capabilities that we ended up with that stupid grin on our faces after a few turns, the type that’s plastered on your face the moment it sets in that you just did the nasty with Megan Fox and she wants more. Not that it will ever happen but owning the Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing would be a cheaper and easier alternative.
The brakes were all that you could imagine and more. Weighing in at 1,150kg, the four pot AP Racing calipers rearranged your internals and induced whiplash every time you stomped on the brakes. Trust us when we say we pushed those brakes to the limit and they bit like an ice-cold killer every single time. Towards the end though, slight fade was apparent but honestly that was expected with the abuse she was put through.
Steering input was precise and almost inch-perfect. Feedback was abundant, keeping your sensory working overtime at every corner. If there was a complain it would be the shifting between gears that wasn’t as meaty as we hoped for.
Even when we overcooked it on entry, the car was easily restrained with a slight tap on the brakes and a dab of corrective steering input.
The engine has been tuned to ensure that the power delivery kept the fun going all night long. The variable air intake kicking and a revised CPS switchover point at higher revs has effectively given the car two power zones to play with in the rev counter. Now the upside is the ever-willingness to rev to the redline in every gear, something that we can vouch for but the downside would be the severe loss of power in the lower revs. It does seem very asthmatic until you hit the 3,000rpm mark and then things take off. This is a real bummer for everyday driving but makes it a hoot to hoon on the tracks.
Furthermore, to fully extract the potential from the additional mods to the engine, a shorter final drive has been thrown into the mix for quicker acceleration.
Now the one thing that we couldn’t quite get out of our head while tossing it into corners was that at the end of the day, you’re still in a Satria Neo CPS. Of course, that feeling fades during corners but as soon as you’re out of that last hairpin, it hits you that you’re still in a stock Neo interior, which explains why you were being tossed about in that last turn because semi-bucket seats are not available. God-forbid your foot slips off the brakes as you approach a tight corner.
On the drive to return the car, we could list out the list of top complaints Proton receives from its customers, rattling noises in the dash, the power window was squeaking and completing the symphony was the creaking from the steering rack.
So at the end of the day, the Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing handles like an RM115,000 car should but it certainly doesn’t feel like a RM115,000 car should. Nonetheless, such is the price of exclusivity that as of last week, all 25 units have been spoken for.
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