While the Proton Saga EV Green Propulsion Concept stole the lime light in University Putra Malaysia for the “Proton Exora - The Making” seminar, the national car maker also took to the opportunity to showcase the Proton Exora Prestige Turbo Prototype.
It is basically the Proton Exora Prestige Concept which was first previewed at the Exora’s official launch event, but now fitted with a prototype turbo powerplant.
The turbo engine based on the 1.6 liter CamPro powerplant was built in-house, without the input of Lotus. Which means, the engine mostly features aftermarket parts to turn it from a normally aspirated motor to a turbocharged one. It’s useful to test the durability and reliability of a Campro block when force inducted.
The production turbocharged powerplant for the Exora is being co-developed with Lotus, and sources reveal that powertrain engineers will soon leave for the UK to intensify the development.
The powerplant featured in the Prestige Concept shown above is said to produce up to 270 horsepower, and with a torque figure that is rated at about 350Nm. (UPDATE: Now that I think about it, this quoted figure seems a little over the top. While no doubt it is possible especially if you strengthen the engine enough, it is not practical for production use so the production car will not likely be tuned to such extents as there is a high possibility for lots of turbo lag and the 4-speed Mitsubishi automatic transmission must be struggling with the torque.)
A source revealed that the turbocharged Proton Exora MPV could most probably hit the market by between end 2010 to mid 2011. Honestly for me despite many customers eagerly waiting for a more powerful Exora, later is better as it means more time for testing, and a turbocharged production engine is something very new for Proton.
The production turbocharged variant will very likely offer less than the 270 hp and 350Nm performance figures mentioned above, but even if it ends up producing anywhere in the region of 170 horses and 240Nm of torque, that would be a big leap already as it would be equivalent to a normally aspirated 2.4 liter engine, but with peak torque coming in at a much lower RPM.
It wipe out one major issue that the current Exora has, which is a lack of go. The 1.6 liter Campro CPS that is currently being offered with the Exora produces 125 horsepower and 150Nm of torque. Proton also revealed that the Exora Prestige Concept is being sold to selected VIPs that have placed orders for the extra-luxury variant.
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