Proton Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing Edition

Courtesy of Proton’s Race Rally Research (R3) Division, we were able get to know this welter-middleweight class fighter that’s able to hold its own, both in the ring track and on the streets. And, from the way it looks, it’s always ready to be engaged at any given moment.

Why both weight divisions? Because this car’s weight belongs in the welterweight division (1.6L class engines), but yet it packs a punch that’s able to take on them middleweights (2.0L class engine). So we look at what this fighting machine went through to become an “Asian Contender.”

Proton’s R3 division took a holistic approach to this little project of theirs and though ‘there’s no replacement, like displacement,’ this car felt more towards the ‘pure driving pleasure’ slogan when they looked to make the LRE into a real thoroughbred prize-fighter. So how did they go about doing it? Like a fighter’s trainer, they identified what was lacking and started making improvements to it.

Ideally, a good fighter needs a certain combination of speed, power, stamina and dexterity, so everything they did to this car had to have cause and effect. So where did they start to make changes? The engine ofcourse. But before getting all technical, lets get you strapped in and progress from the cabin onwards.

Climbing into the LRE’s cabin you’ll notice the thickly wrapped Nappa steering-wheel with carbonfibre trim that feels chunky and grippy on your palms. The semi-bucket Nappa-wrapped Recaro seats does its job to help hold you in place when you start to engage the road ahead.

Now adjust your seat to your driving position and stow away your knick-knacks that can fit into the minuscule glove compartment. But if you’ve got anything larger like your favourite CD collection, you might as well put it in a bag and chuck it in the boot. Imagine having been stabbed by loose objects after having navigated a long series of tight corners at insanely high speeds, because there really isn’t much stowage available within the cabin. Remember, its performance and not family oriented, so it’s going to be driven hard at some point in time; correction, make that all the time!

Though the interior requires some much needed shine, the Nappa helps to accentuate a bit of class to the LRE’s interior stature. However, the dull mat green spray-painted interior has unfortunately robbed it of such and given it a more rougher outlook. To make matters worse, the aluminium R3-stamped pedals were fantastically shiny to a point they could have been mistaken for metallic-coated paint on plastic! But who cares, your feet will be attending ‘step class’ with these pedals anyhow and you’re more likely to change them out for something more inline with your likings anyhow. However, it has to be said that the accelerator pedal has been placed closer to the brakes, making it easier to heel-and-toe.

So with everything in the boot, strap yourself in tight, slide in the key, put your foot on the brakes and press that little green-lit START button thats slightly hidden to the left of the steering wheel and let the games begin.

The 4-2-1 ceramic coated stainless steel 2.2″ exhaust note sounds mid-bassy at idle, blip that throttle high enough and you’ll notice the turbo-like ‘pop’ as the revs rumble back down to around 900+rpm. Pump the slightly-weighted clutch and the first gear engagement is crisp and accurate. Now let loose them ponies and scream out ‘yee-har!’

While the LRE’s 145bhp and 168Nm of torque is 20bhp and 18Nm up from the standard CPS engine, its all easily accessible and well-distributed throughout the rev range before red-lining at 7,500rpm. While the LRE’s power delivery seemed endless, its Cam Profile Switching (CPS) is activated at 4,000rpm instead of 4,400rpm on the standard version, which helps the engine’s intake to access air at a greater rate and sooner. This meant that a larger airbox was required to provide a larger reservoir of air for the engine when required, which has been graciously provided in the form of a sporty carbonfibre airbox that has been increased by 2 litres VDA (Verband Der Automobilindustrie – German Automobile Industry Association) and coupled with a high flow-rate drop-in washable and re-usable K&N Filter (Part Number 33-2539).

To reduce the loss of energy transfer from the engine, the R3 Division provided lighter and more wear-resistant aluminium components such as the drive pulley, water pump pulley, adjustable cam pulley and a re-profiled aluminium racing camshaft. The main goal was to further enhance the realized performance characteristics of the engine by reducing inertia. Hence, the lighter the components of the engine, the less force required to put the parts in motion.

The re-profiled racing camshafts greatly aids the engine in both in-take and exhaust flow. It now provides for higher valve lift which allows for greater quantities of air/exhaust to flow in and out respectively of each combustion chamber, taking place at 5,500rpm instead of 4,800rpm on the standard CPS engine. In addition, the cams will also provide for longer durations of valve overlap, where the intake and exhaust valves remain simultaneously open for a brief moment, occurring just after the exhaust-stroke and just before the intake-stroke. In return, this relieves the the pistons from being robbed of its combusted momentum by preventing excess exhaust gases from being trapped within the combustion chamber.

When compressing air, heat is created; and in this case, having additional gases within the combustion chamber will render the 10:1 compression ratio of the engine inconsistent, placing the engine’s innards under unnecessary strain and accelerated levels of wear and tear. Thus, the excess hot exhaust fumes will become hotter from the piston’s compression stroke, increasing the possibility of the new air/fuel mixture to prematurely ignite before the piston reaches Top Dead Centre (TDC). This would undoubtedly place the cooling system under considerable strain, as the excessive heat robs the engine of its performance potential and compound such levels of mechanical wear and tear. The possibility of this happening becomes exponential as the engine operates in the higher RPM region. Therefore, having such an overlap allows the cylinder’s temperature to remain relatively consistent and allowing for the engine’s performance to be properly realized and harnessed without shortening it’s intended lifespan.

Since the LRE’s 1.6L engine is now able to move a larger volume of exhaust than the standard CPS, it was then determined that a more accommodating 4-2-1 ceramic coated 2.2″ diameter steel exhaust system (previously Titanium) be utilized. This system allows for quicker heat absorption as well as improved heat retention consistency as compared to non-ceramic coated pipes. Where perhaps a certain section of the pipe may be exposed to greater air flow, it will cool faster than the rest of it, which in turn reduces the exhaust’s velocity causing a build-up of unwanted back-pressure, resulting in inconsistent engine performance. Hence, it was ascertained that such an exhaust system was to be utilized in order to obtain higher consistency in engine performance. For added customization, LRE customers are able to choose if they want the catalytic converter installed. If not, they’ll just throw it in the boot for you to put it back on later; though very unlikely that would ever happen. After all, this is a road-worthy track car.

Now that the engine’s been lightened and its fluid dynamics optimized, the R3 boys decided to allow for more customizations to occur. However, this will be at your own peril because they’ve provided a lightened and adjustable cam-pulley, which allows you to either retard or advance the cam timing. Putting it simply, retarding the cam pulleys lets you burn rich, meaning there is more fuel than air in the combustion chamber, which translates to better acceleration and of course higher fuel consumption. Advancing the cams however, allows you to burn lean, meaning there is less fuel than air in the combustion chamber, which translates to slightly less feel for acceleration at the lower RPM range and helping to lower fuel consumption to a certain degree. Be wary though, retard the cams at your detriment, because if the engine were to be tuned too lean, engine-knocking may occur or worse yet, a more unfortunate and costly demise of the engine; detonation (blown engine).

In summary, the engine alone has undergone considerable changes in order to achieve their goals for higher, more efficient and potent output yet having an overall reduced mass. During this process, Proton and the R3 boys had come to realize that the LRE’s emissions had taken a step down, because the engine was experiencing a more complete combustion cycle! Now you’ve got fantastic mileage coupled with track-like performance.

Now that this bantamweight-fighter’s stamina and power has increased, it’s footwork needed closer scrutinizing. What use of having all that power and stamina when you’ve got sloppy foot-work? By this, we mean that the LRE’s chassis has been strengthened greatly in order to minimize flex. So its engine bay has added more braces and its chassis has gotten more spot-welds compared to the standard chassis. By the way, this hatch is roll-cage ready as well.

With its added rigidity, the amount of information transferred to the driver’s senses was phenomenal. Just like Muhammad Ali’s slogan: Float Like a Butterfly Sting Like a Bee, the Ohlin’s soft-hard adjustable suspension gives this car unprecedented road holding capabilities within Proton’s stable. The ease of driving this hot-hatch was as if it were an extension of all five senses and to a certain degree, your 6th as well.

Driver input vs absorption of information The amount of information coming from your hands and derrier as to what all four tyres and chassis were doing or about to do has been coupled seamlessly. The only way to understand this fully, is to start throwing it into corners and you begin to understand and redefine your own personal limits, making you more confident and surprisingly comfortable. You’re able to select the degree of harshness for your ride, thereby affecting the way the car handles. However more importantly, it provides you the ability to tailor the car’s handling to your driving style as much as possible.

With all that propulsion from the engine, something’s needed to effectively bleed such speed and its none-other than the AP Racing 4-pot slotted discs at the front and solid discs at the rear. To give the braking system greater consistency, its been outfitted with steel braided hoses since the LRE uses corrosive DOT 5 brake fluid. So why use DOT 5? Because it’s silicone based and not glycol, thus it has a higher boiling temperature that could start anywhere between 180C and 260C. If the fluid does boil, gas is produced causing a more spongy feel as you keep pumping the brakes. However, it has to be noted that when the discs are at lower operating temperatures, it will squeal louder than a stuck pig.

Added onto to the brakes are light-weight R3 alloy rims shod with Bridgestone’s Adrenalin RE001 tyres . These tyres have a softer tyre-wall, which helps in improving ride comfort on Malaysian pot-holed roads, but take it out onto the track and you’ll soon realize that these tyres are obviously deleterious to the car’s real performance capabilities. None-the-less, they still stand up to everyday use and abuse.

Be fore-warned though, you might need to check your rear-view mirrors more often because rest assured, when you slam on those brakes, you’ll be stopping in a considerably lesser distance, which makes you a ‘collectible item.’

Brake distribution is spot on when applying left-foot-braking, the car’s reaction is simply progressive enough for your senses to register. Braking whilst in a corner doesn’t seem to upset the balance enough to make it too much of a handful. Simply brilliant!

To sum it up, its been rated to have a top speed of 200kmh and also rated to reach 100kmh from standstill in 9.2s, these figures seem understated since we actually breached the top speed figures and was able to attain a speed of 210+kmh and the century sprint was done in just under 9s.

All in, we’d say the weight saving features of the car’s engine, car body from the usage of fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) for the front fenders, race- tuned front bumper with lip, lightweight alloy rims, strong brakes, a far more rigid chassis than standard, stiffened suspension, good all-round tyres and higher engine performance figures actually makes this car a BARGAIN! So who needs luxury when you’ve got a grin-inducing piece of machinery thats able to bring you further into a realm where you can experience higher G-forces.

So with 25 hand-made units being made available, it wouldn’t surprise us if there were none left at the end of the day. As to how many has been sold, Proton’s not letting that cat out of the bag just yet.