Proton has been working hard of late. An unknown source sent a spyshot of Proton's latest offering - a suped-up Proton Arena, believed to be a Special Edition, sporting a new form factor and a new Lotus-designed engine.
Inside sources have confirmed the existence of the new Proton Arena SE, which was completely designed and developed by the Proton Design Team at an undisclosed factory off Kuala Terengganu.
Based on a stretched Elise platform, the chassis should offer superb ride and handling capabilities with stiffer springs, dampers and PU bushings. The Arena SE will also come standard with 4-point front and rear strut bars as well as fender bars.
Excitement is building up in anticipation of the new 240hp CantGoPro 1.9 litre turbo-charged engine first to be featured in the Arena. The inline-4 direct injection engine will sport variable valve and cam timing, and an all-new performance-driven engine management system exclusively developed by MOTEC - the BlowMe8000 EMS. Performance figures are reported to be 4.2 seconds for the century sprint and an impressive 12.5 seconds for the quarter mile. The Arena is claimed to have a top speed of 250km/h.
With standard electronics like EBD, ABS, PTC (Proton Traction Control) and 16 airbags as standard, the Arena SE is an astounding value-for-money package. The 6-pot AP Racing-supplied front brakes and 4-pot rears have claimed to stop the 800kgs utility vehicle from 100-0kmh in 15 metres.
The Arena SE will come fitted with Sparco Torino II semi-buckets seats, exclusive MOMO race steering, gear knob and sports pedals.
Pricing is currently unknown. Scheduled for 2005 release.
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