When Proton Inspira was announced, many people joked about how Proton was copying Mitsubishi's design. In fact, I've come across many bloggers who made fun of the engineers working for Proton. The boys from my university was poking fun at how cheap Proton is, to "carbon copy an awesome car like Lancer". I was surprised that many Malaysian's are not aware of the engineering behind Proton.
What many people don't know is, most of Proton cars are Mitsubishi old models. They were re-badged and renamed into a more local tune. Proton Gen-2 was the first 'Proton's car', (excluding Proton Waja), including its engine (yes, i know right!). Proton and Mitsubishi were partners for many years. The proof? Well, here are the pictures...
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| Proton Saga |
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| Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore/Mirage (4th Gen) |
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| Proton Wira |
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| Mitsubishi Lancer (6th Gen) |
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| Proton Perdana |
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| Mitsubishi Eterna (7th Gen) |
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| Proton Juara |
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| Mitsubishi Town Box |
Besides these models, Proton Tiara was also re-badged, but its not by Mitsubishi. Proton Tiara has the same design as Citroen AX. It seems that Proton Savvy is an 'upgrade' to Proton Tiara. Interestingly, Proton Savvy looks almost like the Mitsubishi's Concept Global Small design. Not only Proton, even Perodua models was re-badged. I won't go to the details of Perodua now, since we're on the topic of Proton and Mitsubishi.
Interesting isn't it? For the past 25 years (26 this year), we Malaysians are driving old Mitsubishi models in the name of national car. Nevertheless, Proton are coming up with their own designs lately. Perhaps their partnership with Lotus could make some significant changes soon, besides their Proton MSX and Satria Neo R3.
By the way, what do you guys think about the Pahlawan Series?
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