Since the donor car arrived at the workshop in September 08, I had no idea that it would turn out to be this good. You know the thought …….. can it be done here, do we have the expertise, etc? Well, what you see before your eyes may look foreign made, but believe me it’s done here, locally! And guess what, I am the one sitting in the co-drivers seat! Lucky me. Ok, enough said. I have been pestered by the boss to write about the car and what it feels like to be driven in it. The first thing you will ask, ‘Why a Gen 2 for rallying?’Why not buy a Subaru Impreza or Mitsubishi EVO? Well, following the government ‘advise’ we have decided to ‘Buy Malaysian’ and to me personally, it’s just as good or even better than the Impreza or Evo’s for the task at hand and it is much-much cheaper to build.
As can be seen, the shell was stripped to bare metal, with all unwanted bracket and other fittings bits removed. Surprisingly the Gen 2 shares the same dimensions as the Evo’s, as such, no cutting and lengthening of long shafts was needed. The wheel arches was remodeled and widen to get the long suspension travel needed for rallying while the rear end was cut to make way for the rear diff carrier. Next came the roll cage, engine mounts, seat mounts, extended fenders, wings, vented bonnet and then the shell was taken to the painter. Noteworthy is that the components; such as the engine mounts, suspension mounts etc. is a one-off, machined from chunks of aluminum and steel.
The Evo 6 engine was sponsored by Links Power and was built with all manners thinkable in getting the most and safest amount of horses sustainable by the Gen 2. The engine is mounted as far back in the engine bay to get as much weight to the center of the car for better stability, mounted next to it is the oil and coolers. This allows better air flow as well as protecting it from any damage during competition. A Hewland dog engagement gear box is mated to the engine to transfer all the engines power to the wheels reliably. Motec system with anti lag is icing on the cake, with the graph on the dyno showing going well beyond the 300bhp mark with plenty of usable torque starting early in the rev range. That’s as good as it gets.
| Specification | |
| Model | Proton Gen2 |
| Engine | S4PE 1.3-litre |
| Engine Upgrade | 4G63T EVO 6, tuned to 300bhp, ARC intercooler M8 Motec |
| Transmission | Hewland Dog box 5 speed H-pattern |
| Exhaust | 3-inch straight flow |
| Suspension | Reiger suspension system |
| Brakes | Grippen (front) Brembo (rear) |
| Rims & Tyres | Enkei Competition & 205/55-16 |
| Garage | High Speed Rally Team (HSRT), Links Power, Felda, Proton, IBIL, Silverstone, Permai Spray |
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