Proton will give Australia a sneak preview of its next generation hot hatch when it unveils the Proton R3 Satria at the Melbourne International Motor Show next week.

THE R3 Satria has been developed by Proton's special vehicles and motorsport arm R3, which stands for Race, Rally, and Research, at its headquarters in Shah Alam in Malaysia.

R3 is headed up by former Lotus engineer and prominent Malaysian race driver Tengku Djan Ley.

The R3 Satria combines a range of special body enhancements as well as suspension development and a high performance power plant, to give the Satria Neo a true edge in the hot hatch arena.

At this stage the R3 Satria is still in development and no on-sale date has been decided.

However, the R3 division is working to bring the performance model to market as soon as possible.

While the type and configuration of the power plant cannot be revealed yet R3 has targeted a significant power increase over the standard Proton Satria, which is powered by Proton's own Campro 1.6 litre twin cam multi-valve engine.

Alongside the R3 Satria at the Melbourne motor show media day will be Proton's new four-door Persona sedan.

According to Djan Ley the R3 Satria has been developed as a spiritual successor to the legendary Satria GTi, the first Proton to utilise the expertise and performance credentials of subsidiary company Lotus.

"We have very much focussed on the Lotus philosophy of performance through utilising intelligent powerplant solutions while minimising weight and enhancing Satria's already impressive handling," Mr Ley said.

"The Satria is a striking design and a great canvas for us to work with, I believe the R3 Satria will be a real hit at the show.

"It is on the road where it will be really impressive, but people will have to wait a little while before the R3 Satria hits the tarmac."

Proton Cars Australia managing director John Startari said the presence of the R3 Satria on the Proton stand at Melbourne would be a huge drawcard during the fortnight of the show.

"The first generation GTi carved a real niche for itself and it is a bit of a cult car, the R3 Satria certainly gives some pointers to what its successor might look like," Mr Startari said.

As well as revealing the new Persona and R3 Satria, Proton will also show a full array of its Australian model line-up at Melbourne including the Savvy city car, Gen 2 hatch, Satria Neo and Jumbuck ute, recently named the cleanest and greenest ute in Australia by the Australian government Green Vehicle Guide.

* Melbourne International Motor Show runs from 5pm on February 29 until 6pm on March 10 and is organised and promoted by the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce through its dealer division the Australian Automobile Dealers Association (Vic).

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