Proton has taken a huge leap in the electric vehicle race by winning the Best Range Extender Electric Vehicle category in the inaugural Brighton to London Future Challenge with the Exora Extended Range Electric Vehicle.
The challenge is organised by the Royal Automobile Club in England and is a contest for electric, hybrid and low-emission vehicles. The categories are Full Electric (EV), Hybrid (HEV) and Extended Range EV (E-REV) as well as the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) with up to 110g/km in CO2 emissions.
Winners are selected based on the lowest energy consumption on the 91.2km drive from Brighton to London. The Exora won the E-REV category after consuming just 2.2-liters of petrol for the drive. A total of 64 cars took part in the various categories and Proton even had the Saga Electric running in the EV class.
Proton’s entry was a collaboration with one of its tech partners, Frazer-Nash Research.
“To be able to participate in a challenge like this presented a great opportunity for us to demonstrate our technological capabilities and commitment in developing highly efficient fuel vehicles that are also environmentally friendly. It was a means for us to showcase how far we’ve come in such a short period of time. It is also proof on how Proton is moving forward into the future and this technology is the right way to do it,” said Datuk Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, Group Managing Director of Proton Holdings.