Sydney show: Proton previews Satria GTi

IT HAS been seven years since Proton last exhibited at Sydney motor show, and its new-generation three-door Satria hatch was deemed too important to miss yesterday's premiere event.

On sale from February priced from around $17,990, the new Satria is the final component in the company’s first wave of "self-designed" cars, following the Gen.2 and Savvy.

It is built on a new platform developed entirely by Proton, with styling cues taken from Audi’s A3.

The car’s exterior presents a muscular and sporty image with headlights that project the company’s "tiger eye" family design first seen on the Gen.2.

The Satria will be powered by an 82kW/148Nm 1.6-litre Campro twin-cam four-cylinder, which sees the car sprint from 0-100km/h in 11.5 seconds. Standard equipment should run to air-conditioning, electric windows, alarm, MP3-compatible stereo, a three-spoke steering wheel, front foglights, a rear roof spoiler and reverse-parking sensors.

Proton will also show a special Satria design exercise known as Desire. Satria Desire is a wild styling exercise that perhaps provides a hint of what is to come with the much-anticipated second-generation Satria GTi.

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