Proton managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin told the Oman Economic Review that Proton was developing a turbocharged engine set for introduction by the years 2010 to 2011, just in time for a facelift of the
2009 Proton MPV which could see the introduction of this turbocharged engine.
The turbocharged engine would be in line with the current market trends of having a small displacement engine but forced inducted to produce the equivalent horsepower of a larger motor, usually with more torque, and more fuel efficiency. The engine will have the power output equivalent to a 2.0 liter engine. We could be looking at a 1.6 liter Campro turbo or Campro CPS turbo engine producing about 150 horsepower and perhaps 240Nm of torque.
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Proton is also set to spend RM5 billion over the next 5 years on R&D efforts, which is about RM1 billion a year. Other efforts (as quoted in the report) include developing a small competitive car, acquiring
diesel engines licensed from an international OEM (Fiat? Peugeot?) because of their popularity in markets such as India, hybrid and electric technologies, the possibility of a joint model with Lotus (spiritual successor to the Lotus Carlton based on a Proton maybe?), and the reduction of weight of Proton models.