Job completed – Final recipient of My Proton Makeover takes car home
The popular ‘My Proton Makeover’ programme has come to its conclusion with the sixth and final winner collecting the keys to her fully refurbished car from Proton R3 earlier today. Madam Lee Koon Gaik and her husband were visibly delighted as they saw their faithful Proton Saga Aeroback 1.5I appearing brand new in a simple ceremony held in Proton R3’s headquarters at Shah Alam.
Madam Lee is the car’s sole owner throughout its 21 years on the road, receiving it in 1991 as a gift from her husband. She is extremely devoted to the car, and resisted the temptation from cashing in on the Government’s voluntary scrapping incentive that took place in 2009. The car had assisted her in caring for her ailing father and was also used to ferry her sons to school.
Describing the task associated with this particular car, Proton R3’s Head of Engineering Tengku Djan Ley said, “Understanding her driving patterns as she uses her car for her daily errands, we worked to give the car a more pleasurable drive. The engine and gearbox were rebuilt without adding any performance enhancements or modifications, with the exhaust system being tweaked to improve the car’s torque without making it loud and noisy.”
Essentially, the car maintains a stock standard setup, although all of the car’s running gear – engine, transmission, brakes and suspension – were completely refurbished and overhauled. Djan and his team did size up the rims from 13 to 16 inches, so Mdm Lee’s first tyre change after this project may bring her a shocker.
Appearance-wise, the car has a very stock standard look about it, with the Iswara SE tail lamps (unavoidable because original Saga tail lamps are no longer produced) and upsized rims the biggest deviations from its original appearance. The team’s best work on this car can be seen inside, where they were able to retain the classic Saga dashboard layout but trimmed with stitched Alcantara. Even the original steering was retained.
Mdm Lee’s restored Proton Saga puts her in an exclusive company of six Proton owners who benefited from this program. Earlier recipients of the makeover were Fadly Hisham Roplay’s Proton Saga Megavalve, Sashideran Radha Krishnan’s Proton Wira 1.5GL, Norzamzarini Mohd Bajuri’s Proton Iswara Aeroback, Hafiz bin Mohd Hashim’s Proton Satria GTI and Amirul Azim Mohd Hussain’s Proton Satria 1.3.
See also: Proton car prices and specifications in Malaysia.
