Emas

Proton’s range of concept hybrid city cars have been officially unveiled in Geneva today and we now know that they are called the EMAS, the EMAS Country and the EMAS3. For non-Malaysians reading this site, EMAS basically means gold in Bahasa Malaysia, but in this context it also stands for ‘Eco Mobility Advance Solution’. The cars were unveiled at Italdesign Giugiaro’s booth by our ex-PM Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who so happens to also be Proton’s advisor.Not in vain efforts Tun Dr. Mahathir founded a national car manufacturer once. This caused the development of industries that are generated by proton impressive. Inventions and innovations from time to time, shows how vehicle manufacturers and national maturity. As a Malaysian I am proud-minded statesman who has an innovative leader like him.

The EMAS is the 5-door 4-seater silver hatchback that we first saw. The other two models are the EMAS3, which is a three-door 3+1 seater for city driving, and the EMAS Country which is for country driving – that’s the model with the SUV styling and raised suspension. The concept cars were designed by Italdesign-Giugiaro to fit the description of a compact car with the passenger room of an SUV.

The EMAS range of vehicles all run on a common platform that can spawn some other body variants such as a small van for short commercial trips around the city. The chassis has a wheelbase of 2,590mm (the shorter EMAS3′s wheelbase is 2,035mm). Imagine a small zero emissions and silent van used by Pos Malaysia to deliver your mail and parcels! The batteries are positioned somewhere at the centre of the car. The Lotus Range Extender engine is mounted at the front.

It’s basically a 1.2 liter inline-3 engine that’s designed to run only specifically as certain RPM ranges, since it does not drive the wheels directly but only generates power to recharge the batteries. This means it does not necessarily have to rev very high. Drive torque is provided by the electric motor. So it is not surprising that the 1.2 liter engine’s peak power is 51 horsepower at a very low 3,500rpm.

Because the engine does not have to rev high, Lotus can design it for a lower redline and certain parts such as valve springs and etc do not have to be built to tolerate higher speeds. This can save weight and cost – and the result is an engine that weighs only 56kg according to the original specs. But in any case, the specs that was unveiled here is actually slightly more powerful than what Lotus initially announced when they introduced the range extender engine. The original Lotus Range Extender press release quoted two different power generation points depending on load – 20hp at 1,500rpm and 47hp at 3,500rpm. The engine can run on gasoline, ethanol, methanol or natural gas.

The electric motor outputs a continuous power of 45kW and a peak power of 75kW. The motor’s torque output is pegged at 240Nm at peak, and does not require the use of a gearbox, so the motor drives the rear wheels through a fixed ratio. 0 to 100km/h tales 14 seconds, the car’s top speed is 170km/h, and one battery charge’s worth of range is 50km before the internal combustion engine needs to kick in to recharge it. You can also charge the battery via an electrical outlet as it has plug-in capabilities. A full charge is said to take 3 hours with 240V 13A power point.

The interior (which you can see above – we’re in the midst of getting better pix) is said to feature two TFT monitors in the center mounted at a concave angle. The right hand monitor shows the speedo and various other vital statistics of the car such as the hybrid system energy flow diagrams, while the left hand monitor handles the in-car entertainment and communication settings, including a browser for internet access. A third display located beneath the center console is a touch screen display that allows you to control various car functions.

“The unveiling of the concept cars today reflects the long-term strategy we have in matching global automotive standards as we expand and reinforce our presence worldwide. 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,” said Proton managing director Dato Syed Zainal. According to DSZ, the car is between 17 to 24 months away from production, so we’re looking at a 2012 to 2013 launch date!