The first generation Proton Perdana is a four-door mid-size family saloon manufactured by

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

n automobile producer

Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...

which launched on 26 January 1995. It is a

badge engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a ma ...

seventh generation Mitsubishi Eterna, developed as the result of a collaboration between Proton and

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.Malay word for ''Prime''.

History

Proton Perdana (1995-1998)

The Malaysian economy grew at an average of 8% each year between the late 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. Proton identified the need for a larger, more luxurious

D-segment The D-segment is the 4th category of the European segments for passenger cars, and is described as "large cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "large family car" size class, and the present-day definition of the mid-size car category us ...

car after the launch of the

B-segment The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 20 percent of ...

Proton Saga The Proton Saga is a series of compact and subcompact cars produced by Malaysian automobile manufacturer Proton. Introduced in 1985, the Proton Saga became the first Malaysian car and a major milestone in the Malaysian automotive industry. The ...

and

C-segment The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. In 2011, the C- ...

Proton Wira The Proton Wira ( Malay, "hero") is a car manufactured by Malaysian carmaker Proton from 1993 to 2009. It was produced in four-door saloon and five-door hatchback models, and is based on the Mitsubishi Lancer platform. History Development ...

in 1985 and 1993 respectively. When it launched on 26 January 1995, the Proton Perdana became

's first car to compete against the

Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...

Honda Accord The , also known as the in Japan and China for certain generations, is a series of cars manufactured by Honda since 1976, best known for its four-door sedan variant, which has been one of the best-selling cars in the United States since 1989. ...

and

Nissan Cefiro The is a front-engine, five passenger, mid-size passenger car manufactured and marketed by Nissan Motors over three generations. Almost all Cefiro's were marketed as four-door sedans, though a five-door wagon body style was briefly available (19 ...

. The Perdana was the third car developed under Proton's extensive collaboration with

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.seventh generation Mitsubishi Eterna platform and shared a vast majority of parts with the JDM-spec Eterna, receiving only minor internal and external changes for the Malaysian market. The Perdana features Mitsubishi's 4G63 16-valve 2.0 litre I4 multi-point fuel injected engine which is capable of producing 135 hp at 6000 rpm and 176 Nm of torque at 4750 rpm. It was initially offered with a four-speed automatic and a five-speed manual transmissions, but the manual variant was discontinued in 1996. The Perdana sported an extremely low

drag coefficient In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: c_\mathrm, c_x or c_) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag e ...

of just 0.29 C_d, allowing for improved

fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device ...

and a top speed in excess of 200 km/h. The Perdana also became Proton's first car to be offered with an anti-lock braking system (ABS) and

cruise control Cruise control (also known as speed control, cruise command, autocruise, or tempomat) is a system that automatically controls the speed of a motor vehicle. The system is a servomechanism that takes over the throttle of the car to maintain a ...

, and among the earliest of Protons to be equipped with all-round power windows, power folding mirrors and a headlight levelling system. Proton struggled to meet the overwhelming demand for the Perdana upon its January 1995 launch, with a waiting period of over six months. The Perdana costed around RM85,000 at launch, but there were reports of relatively new second-hand Perdana units appreciating up to 12%, or RM95,000. Nonetheless, Proton still captured 47% of the ''2,000cc and above'' segment in its domestic market, with 9,000 units sold over the course of 14 months. In 1997, the Perdana was given a minor facelift, offering a chrome-plated grille, redesigned alloy rims, as well as additional colour options and upgraded interior trimmings. A bulletproof edition of the Proton Perdana was used in the shuttling of the Heads of Government during the 1998 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Proton Perdana V6 (1998-2010)

On 12 November 1998, Proton unveiled the Proton Perdana V6 at Stadium Putra,

Bukit Jalil Bukit Jalil is an affluent suburb in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is bounded by the National Sports Complex on the east, the Shah Alam Expressway on the north, city boundaries to the west, and the Puchong–Sungai Besi Highway as well as city bou ...

. The Proton Perdana V6 is the same as the original Perdana, but equipped with the superior 24-valve Mitsubishi 6A12 2.0L

V6 engine A V6 engine is a six-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V6 engines were designed and produced independently by Marmon Motor Car Company, Deutz Gasmotoren Fabr ...

which offers 148 hp, or 13 hp more than the previous 16-valve Mitsubishi 4G63 2.0L

Inline-four engine A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...

. The Perdana V6 received additional ride & handling input from Proton's British subsidiary, Lotus, resulting in improved NVH attributes. It also featured a new bodykit, grille, 16" rims, leather seats, a redesigned steering wheel and other minor updates on the interior and two exterior colours; silver and black. The original Perdana was sold alongside the V6 variant, but it was eventually discontinued in early 2000. Proton had also introduced the Perdana V6 in neighbouring

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

on 11 and 22 June 1999 respectively. The Perdana V6 was given a major facelift on 26 January 2003. It received a new front grille similar to an Alfa Romeo, front and rear bumpers, 16-inch alloy rims, tail lights and reverse lamps which were repositioned to the boot. Interior-wise, it featured a new steering wheel, redesigned leather seats and new aluminium-effect trim panels. The mechanical aspects of the car remained unchanged. From 2005 onwards, the Perdana V6 was offered with a new cream coloured interior option and more alluring nine-spoke 16" rims. This iteration remained on sale up until early 2010. Proton managed to sell more than 77,178 units of the Perdana. Of the total sold, the 2.0 litre 6A12 V6 variant was the most commercially successful at between 50,000 and 55,000 sold whereas the 2.0 litre 4G63 I4 managed around 24,370, of which 11,570 and 9,617 were SEi and GLi automatic models, while the remaining 3,183 units made up the rare GLi manual version. Automotive Conversion Engineering (ACE), a subsidiary of Edaran Otomobil Nasional (EON) and a company which specializes in the development of limousines and

TD2000 The TD2000 is a retro-classic roadster styled after the MG TD. It is produced by TD Cars (Malaysia) Pte. Ltd., a private limited company incorporated in 1998. The company acquired the rights, intellectual properties and trademarks associated wit ...

cars produced the Proton Perdana V6 Executive, an extended wheelbase variant offering an additional 25 cm (10 in) in the rear passenger compartment. A special edition of the Executive was also developed, featuring a specially designed "mobile office" themed console box, a 6.5 inch LCD TV and a

VCD Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...

player. Additionally, two Proton Perdana V6 Limousine variants were released offering extended wheelbases of 66 cm (26 in) and 91 cm (36 in) respectively over the original Perdana V6, and sported far more luxury equipment compared to the Executive variant. The Proton Perdana V6 is widely used by the

Malaysian government The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( ms, Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Mal ...

and to a lesser extent, the Royal Malaysia Police. Some foreign embassies in Malaysia also use the Perdana V6 as diplomat cars. Known foreign embassies, consulates or high commissions that have invested in the Malaysian-made Proton Perdana V6 include Palestine. The Perdana was only sold in its domestic market and immediate neighbouring countries. However, a handful of Perdana and Perdana V6 units were exported to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

to serve Proton's top British executives. The Perdana was also tested by Britain's Top Gear magazine in their April 1999 issue and there were plans to sell the Perdana V6 in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. However, such plans failed to materialize due to the

1997 Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...

and Proton's subsequent withdrawal from mainland Europe. Between 1998 and 1999, Proton also had intentions to market the Perdana with a 2.5-litre version of the V6 engine in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, but no such launch occurred. On 12 April 2001, ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...

'' reported that Perdana V6s sold throughout Singapore were placed under a recall order due to problems with the steering and suspension system with the ball joints.

Specifications

Notes

References

{{Proton vehicles Perdana Cars introduced in 1995 2000s cars