Proton Unveils Revolutionary EMAS Hybrid Concept Cars At Geneva
Posted on 07. Mar, 2010 by webmestre in Europe
Proton Unveils Revolutionary EMAS Hybrid Concept Cars At Geneva
Malaysian car maker Proton has unveiled a series of global concept cars at the prestigious Geneva Motor Show.
The three global concept cars – EMAS, EMAS Country and EMAS3 – signal Proton’s long-term plan to expand its footprint in the global automotive market.
EMAS – which means gold in the Malay language – stands for Eco Mobility Advance Solution, and is a result of the joint collaboration between Proton, its subsidiary Lotus, and Italian design house, Italdesign Giugiaro (IDG).
The cars were unveiled by Proton Advisor and former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and will be displayed throughout the exhibition from 4 to 14 March.
Proton Holdings chairman Dato’ Mohomed Nadzmi and group managing director Dato’ Syed Zainal, as well as Italdesign Giugiaro chairman Giorgetto Giugiaro and co-chairman Fabrizio Giugiaro, were also present for the unveiling.
The EMAS series comprises a family of low-environmental-impact cars which are expected to revolutionise traditional car market segmentation.
It consists of a five-door four-seater hatchback “EMAS” for comfort driving, a three-door five-seater hatchback “EMAS Country” cross over concept, and a three-door 3+1 plus-seater “EMAS3″ for city driving.
The concept cars were designed by IDG to fit the description of a compact car with the passenger room of an SUV. The aim is to maximise the interior room and improve access to the vehicles.
The EMAS concept cars also feature:
* Innovative interior space
* Hi-tech multifunction display
* Fuel efficient styling – Low drag
* Excellent all round visibility via panoramic glass + LED clusters
* Compact exterior – Ease of maneuverability & practical
All three are powered by a serial hybrid plug-in drive system developed by Lotus Engineering that includes a 3-cylinder, 1.2 litre internal combustion engine developing 38 kW at 3,500 rpm.
The engine can to run on petrol, ethanol, methanol or natural gas.
Speaking on the collaboration with IDG, Dato’ Mohd. Nadzmi said, “We constantly strive to acquire and jointly develop new knowledge, skills and technologies that will ultimately benefit our customers.”
“While we continue to gain progressive technology from our subsidiary Lotus, our design collaboration with IDG will further strengthened our position within the global automotive industry.”
“Proton wanted to work with the best and IDG topped other styling and design houses with their credibility and flair,” he added.
“We undertook a careful process of benchmarking and a thorough point-by-point analysis of strengths and weaknesses in our decision.
“With IDG, we have good design and more, as they would contribute in our brand-building initiatives as well as provide knowledge-transfer to accelerate our learning curve in car design.”
Proton managing director Dato’ Syed Zainal said that the EMAS global concept car project signifies Proton’s “golden” opportunity to demonstrate its competence with the global automotive market.
“The unveiling of the concept cars reflects the long-term strategy we have in matching global automotive standards as we expand and reinforce our presence worldwide.”
He pointed out that the concept cars are the yardstick to gauge public opinion.
“We strive to listen to our customers to ensure the development of a global car that meets customer’s requirements and expectations. The aim is to produce the global car for world market in the future,” he said.
The unveiling coincides with Proton’s silver jubilee 25thanniversary celebration this year.
“Proton is certainly very thankful and humbled that this is happening as we celebrate our 25 years of existence in the industry. We certainly will make full use of this opportunity to reach out and build our brand further into the global world,” said Dato’ Syed Zainal.
EMAS: THE THREE CONFIGURATIONS
EMAS
Hatchback in Comfort, five doors, four seats, 3550 mm in length, hybrid drivetrain
The flagship of the EMAS family is a five door hatchback with an emphasis on comfort. This is achieved in part by utilising the same seats in the rear as in the front creating four business class seats within a compact 3550 mm overall length.
The front styling features the Proton shield housed in a longitudinal slot below the bonnet. This also incorporates the light clusters and is enhanced by two distinctive diamond-shaped fog lights.
The engine cooling air intake, located between the fog lights, is concealed within a dark grey trapezoid motif. Its size varies according to the type of engine installed, without altering the look of the front-end.
The side is dominated by a belt line that drops down decisively toward the windscreen pillar to increase side visibility during parking manoeuvres. The side is enlivened by a sculpted shape, enhanced by a rib that runs from the front wheel arch then swoops up toward the rear.
The large wheel arches are perhaps the most distinctive and substantial aspect of the body. The wheelbase is a generous 2590 mm in a total length of 3550 mm. The wheels are located at each corner of the EMAS giving the impression of a a much bigger car than it actually is.
The B pillar is painted black to create the sensation of visual continuity with the side windows, while the C pillar features a motif based on an “E”, for EMAS.
Oceans of glass allows plenty of light into the interior. Only the lower part of the side windows – the part you need to open to pay tolls or access car parks – is mobile in order to keep the window opening system simpler and lighter.
The windscreen extends along three quarters of the roof to create a sky-dome effect that dominates the view from above. Protective sun blinds are housed in the central crossmember and extend longitudinally toward both the front and rear seats.
The rear view is dominated by a generous rear window incorporating all the taillights, which are entirely based on LED technology.
These are located beneath the glass and are invisible when the car is turned off.
A subtle lip joins both light clusters and surrounds the reversing lights and direction indicators.
When the tailgate is open, the lights are replicated by two supplementary tail-lights located in the lower part of the bumpers on either side of the rear air intake.
EMAS COUNTRY
Cross Over Hatchback with three doors, five seats, 3550 mm in length, hybrid drivetrain.
The Country interpretation of the EMAS is an urban SUV, retaining the 3550mm length but switching to three-door architecture.
Access to the car is still easy due to generous doors which are 1350 mm long and the ergonomic and rational position of the rear seats, which are set 120 mm further forward than in the five-door version.
Passenger room increases from four to five seats by replacing the two independent rear seats with a sliding three-seater bench.
This means that the amount of foot room for passengers in the rear can be adjusted according to requirements.
The bench seat can also be folded completely flat to increase the load volume boosting the luggage space from 390 to approximately 780 litres.
A distinctive off-road exterior look has been achieved with radial rib toughening on the wheel arches, side sills and the lower part of the tailgate and bumpers with a bronze metallic finish.
The roof features an integrated roofrack to enhance its SUV credentials.
The front styling features a more aggressive look differing from the urban, five-door version. The Proton shield is now fitted at the top of a grille above a large longitudinal air intake.
The two fog lights are round and set back into the body.
EMAS3
City Hatchback, three doors, 3+1 seating, 3000mm long with plug-in electric Drive.
EMAS 3 is the city interpretation and has undergone drastic change to reduce the overall length by 550mm to fit within a three metre envelope.
The doors are the same as the Country version, 1350mm long which allows easy access, even for rear seat passengers.
The front styling emphasises a different look, with fog lights, which are trapezoidal and joined by a large rectangular air intake.
The tailgate is unique to this version and is more upright to ensure plenty of passenger headroom and load capacity despite the compact exterior.
The passenger accommodation is altered to a 3+1 seat configuration.
The passenger seated behind the driver has less leg-room but there is still enough space even for an adult.
Passenger room can be decreased to give extra battery capacity to extend the range for the EMAS3 which has been devised solely as a plug-in electric configuration. The passenger room can be reduced from four to three or two seats if necessary to increase range, while retaining a large luggage compartment.
THE INTERIORS
The first thing that strikes you entering the EMAS is the door handles which are an ergonomic design incorporating a set of secondary controls that vary according to position in the car.
The driver can use the handle grip to control all four power windows, door locking and unlocking, the courtesy lights, side mirror adjustment and lowering of the rear head restraints to improve visibility while reversing.
The front passenger can also adjust the hi-fi system as well as his or her own window. The rear passengers can also adjust their seats from the handle grip.
Two concave TFT panels dominate the dashboard. They are housed side by side in the centre of the dashboard. The right-hand monitor shows the speedometer and the main car operating indicators in addition to hybrid system energy flows.
The left-hand monitor shows secondary information such as screens for the hi-fi system, telephone and internet access browser plus personalised car set-up parameters.
A third display, located beneath the central console, is a touch screen that controls all the car’s main and secondary functions. The right part of this TFT screen permanently displays the climate system temperature and air flows.
The lower part of the central console, housing the ignition button and gear selector, extends towards the tunnel and can be folded down.
If for instance the driver is forced to park in a tight spot, causing the driver or front passenger to leave the car from the opposite side, this lower part of central console can be lowered and the seat moved back allowing them to alight on the other side without hindrance.
The central console also houses two USB ports to connect digital music players and mobile phones, plus an SD card slot for satellite navigation maps.
The central part houses a dock specially designed for the Apple iPhone. This dock is Interchangeable and can house other phone and smartphone models. It can recharge the phones and connect them automatically to the car without the need to use other coupling systems.
A compact car with the passenger room of an SUV
The platform, specially designed by Italdesign Giugiaro includes a raised floorpan that is able to accommodate the hybrid or electric system batteries in the centre.
The raised position of the seats, all electrically adjustable, allows passengers to make the best possible use of the interior space.
The combination of these two design features makes getting into and out of the car easier and more very user-friendly, particularly at the rear.
The levels of convenience are comparable only to those of a few other higher-category cars.
The seat H point (corresponding to the passenger hip position) is located higher than that of mass-produced cars but lower than that of an SUV.
The solution allows interior roominess on a par with that of a D segment saloon despite maintaining the exterior dimensions of an A segment car.
Rear seat comfort when you enter and leave the car is unprecedented, the distance from the front seat is comparable to that of an SUV.
The five door version packs a 320 litre luggage compartment able to house two medium-sized suitcases with ease into a length of just 3550 mm.
Powered by Lotus Engineering
The drive system is a hybrid plug-in system developed by Lotus Engineering, a subsidiary of Proton. It includes a 3 cylinder 1.2 litre internal combustion engine developing 38 kW at 3500 rpm which can run on petrol, ethanol, or methanol.
The front transverse internal combustion engine is coupled to a generator and recharges the 11.5 kWh capacity lithium ion batteries.
Drive is delivered by an electric motor with continuous power of 45kW and 75kW peak power. The high maximum torque of 240Nm, means the EMAS does not require a gearbox as such.
0-100 km/h takes 14 seconds, while the car boasts a top speed of 170km/h with battery range in hybrid configuration of 50km.
Full recharging of the battery pack takes three hours using a traditional 240-volt outlet.
The performance and range of the EMAS3 three door electric plug-in version is currently being assessed.
Technical specifications – Dimensions and weights
Length (mm) 3555-3000
Height (mm) 1576
Width 1699
Wheelbase (mm) 2590-2035
Front tyres 215/45 R18
Rear tyres 215/45 R18
Front rims 18″
Rear rims 18″
Boot capacity 320-390 litres
Mechanical units and performance
Mechanical architecture hybrid, series, plug-in
Internal combustion engine position front transverse
Technical specifications 3 cylinders in line, 6 valves, 1.2 litres
Power 38 kW at 3500 rpm
Maximum torque 107 Nm at 2500 rpm
Electric motor position rear
Power 75 kW (peak), 45 kW (continuous)
Maximum torque 240 Nm
Batteries 100 X 31 Ahr Cells
370 Volts
11.47 kWh
Time for full recharge 3 hours with normal 240 Volt, 13A power point
Acceleration 0 – 100 km/h 14 sec
Top speed 170 km/h (peak), 130 km/h (continuous)
Range in electric mode 50 km
Traction rear
One-speed gearbox final drive ratio 4.214:1
Front suspension McPherson
Rear suspension torsion beam
Source AutoDeadline Australia
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