In a momentous occasion held today at the Proton Center of Excellence, Proton Holdings Bhd. today held the first firing of its latest powertrain, the 1.5-liter Turbo Gasoline Direct Injection (TGDi) at the facilities of Ricardo in England. This first firing marks the proof of design and the start of engine testing and validation.
The new engine was built with the technical and technological collaboration with Ricardo, a global engineering, strategic and environmental consultancy from England. The first firing was broadcasted via live telecast from the facilities of Ricardo with the company’s engineers who have been working on the project. It was officiated by YABhg Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Chairman of Proton.
“About 200 engineers are involved in the development within the total period of more than 3 years. We have stationed 20 Proton engineers in England alongside Lotus and Ricardo engineers to develop this new engine family,” said Dato’ Abdul Harith Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer, Proton Holdings Bhd.
“Led by a Project Manager from Proton, the RM 600 million development program will take 40 months to complete all 6 variants with the first variant to be launched after 30 months by the end of 2017,” he added.
The engines being developed here will currently remain known as TGDI (Turbo Gasoline Direct Injection) and GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection), and will be available to be used in all Proton cars from 2018 onwards. The engines mentioned here are classified as:
- 1.0-liter 3-cylinder VVT
- 1.2-liter 3-cylinder VVT
- 1.3-liter 4-cylinder GDI
- 1.5-liter 4-cylinder GDI
- 1.3-liter 4-cylinder TGDI
- 1.5-liter 4-cylinder TGDI
These engines will offer a different feel in comparison with the existing engines as they are more efficient and powerful. They have an average of 25-percent lower fuel consumption and up to 20-percent higher performance. Proton also hopes to penetrate the export market as the engines will be compliant with low emission level of Euro 6c and low CO2 figures.
