Proton Wira
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The Proton Wira (lit. "hero") is a car manufactured by
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
n automaker
Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , Hydron (chemistry), H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' (elementary charge). Its mass is slightly less than the mass of a neutron and approximately times the mass of an e ...
from 1993 to 2009. Based on the fourth-generation Mitsubishi Lancer, it was produced in four-door saloon and five-door
hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...
models.


History

Development of a second, all new Proton model began as early as the middle of 1988. The Wira was introduced on 21 May 1993 as a four-door saloon, based on the CB2A–CB4A-CD9A platform shared with the 1991
Mitsubishi Lancer The Mitsubishi Lancer is an automobile that was produced by the Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1973 until 2024. The Lancer has been marketed as the Colt Lancer, Dodge Colt, Plymouth Colt, Chrysler Valiant Lancer, Chrysler Lancer, ...
, with slightly modified styling to distinguish it. Modifications includes a Proton designed dashboard, front grille and bonnet, headlights, front bumper and front fenders from the
Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...
and tail lights from the 1987
Galant The galant style was an 18th-century movement in music, visual arts and literature. In Germany a closely related style was called the '' empfindsamer Stil'' (sensitive style). Another close relative is rococo style. The galant style was drawn in ...
hatchback. At launch, 3 variants were available: 1.5 GL MT, 1.5 GL AT and 1.6 XLi AT. The frontal design continues the styling first shown in the Proton Iswara with a fluted bonnet that tapers towards the Proton badge on the grill. Rear
disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the #Calipers, calipers to squeeze pairs of #Brake pads, pads against a disc (sometimes called a
rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...
rotor) to create friction. There are two basic types of brake pad friction mechanisms: abrasive f ...
s, front and rear armrests, electric mirrors, folding rear seats and electric windows on all doors were features available on the 1.6 variant. In October 1993, a five-door
hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...
version (initially badged as the Wira Aeroback, in a similar fashion as the five door Saga hatchback) was introduced with two variants, 1.6XLi MT and 1.6XLi AT. At the same time, both saloon and hatchback models launched in the UK. In 1994, both 1.3 GL MT saloon and 1.5 GL AT hatchback variants joined the range in Malaysia. In 1995, the Wira received new grille and tail lights with clear indicators. This coincided with the introduction of diesel powered Wira variants. Wira 1.3's are not equipped with a rev counter. The Wira 1.8 EXi joined the range available with an automatic transmission, available with sedan or Aeroback bodywork and a single overhead cam engine. The 1.8 EXi automatics also came standard with ABS brakes. There was also a limited edition Wira 1.8 EXi DOHC with a manual transmission dubbed "FIA Homologated Special Edition", built to meet the homologation requirement of at least 2,500 units set by the World Rally Championship. A total of 2,450 cars finished in Majorca Black and another 50 RS versions painted solid white were produced. The Wira 1.8 EXi DOHC used a unique grill design and the engine produces . Non-RS variants featured AAC 14" wheels, Recaro seats, Momo steering wheel and leather gear knob, larger disc brakes, larger anti roll bars, extra welding reinforced chassis, twin tip exhaust muffler and a rear spoiler. The RS variant interior was more on par with the 1.3 GL variant for weight savings but with 15 inch ROH rally wheels. The Wira was manufactured in the Philippines in the same year under Proton Pilipinas Corporation. In 1996, the Wira was launched and marketed in Vietnam by Vina Star Motor Corporation. In 1999, the 1.8 grille design was introduced to 1.5 and 1.6 variants. This coincided with the upgrade from carburetor to fuel injection on the 1.3 and 1.5 variants. The Wira 1.3 and 1.5 was now known as Wira 1.3 GLi and 1.5 GLi respectively. In 2001, Proton replaced the
Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...
EFi module with a
Siemens VDO VDO is a German brand of Continental Automotive which makes automotive electronics and mechatronics for powertrains, engine management systems and fuel injection systems. A full range of Tachograph, Data Management, and Telematics products are ...
unit in the 1.3 / 1.5 GLi variants. 1.6 XLi and 1.8 EXi variants were discontinued to avoid overlap with the
Proton Waja The Proton Waja is a saloon car manufactured by Malaysian automotive company, Proton, it was launched in May 2000 by fourth Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The name ''Waja'', which means ''(strong as) steel'' in Malay has both physical and ab ...
in the Proton range. The Wira also received suspension tuning from Lotus. In 2004, Proton Wira received a new grille, front bumper and alloy rims which is similar to Proton Arena. Also introduced was Wira Special Edition or WiSE based on the Wira 1.5 GLi Aeroback but had unique front seats with hollow out headrests, modified exhaust system, larger wheels, aluminium pedals and red finish and accents to various interior pieces. Several Proton models released following the Wira's debut sported frontal stylings that were derivatives of the Wira's. Among them, the original Satria three door hatchback, the Putra two door "sports"
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
, and the
Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...
coupe utility A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
. The Wira was replaced by two similar in house designed Proton cars: the Gen-2 and the
Persona A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...
. The Gen2, codenamed Wira Replacement Model (WRM) was launched in 2004 as a replacement for the Wira Aeroback while the Persona launched in 2007 as a replacement for the Wira sedan. The last Proton Wiras were produced in June 2009. Proton sold 14,908 units of the Wira in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
for 2007, and a further 1,907 and 1,974 were sold in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The last Proton Wiras were registered as late as 2012 in the Malaysian market. Additionally, the last two Proton Wiras were registered in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in 2006, and 76 Wiras were sold in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
in 2010. The last three units of the Iranian assembled Wira were sold in 2011.


Powertrains

At launch, the Mitsubishi 4G15 1.5-litre 12-valve engine used in the Iswara and its predecessor the Saga, was carried over unchanged for the Wira 1.5 GL. The Mitsubishi 4G92 1.6L 16 valve SOHC engine with multi-point fuel injection was introduced together with a four speed
automatic transmission An automatic transmission (AT) or automatic gearbox is a multi-speed transmission (mechanics), transmission used in motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving conditions. The 1904 ...
for the Wira 1.6 XLi. This variant was the first Proton with
power window Power windows or electric windows are automobile windows which can be raised and lowered by pressing a button or switch, as opposed to using a crank handle. History A small number of cars in the 1920s, such as the 1925 Flint Model E-55, f ...
s for all four doors and electronic fuel injection. The multi point injection versions were badged as MPi, although this was only used on the engine, and never on the trim levels (unlike 1.5 MPi GLS with the Saga, the trim levels were simply 1.5 GLS and so forth). Additionally, a small number of Wira units were exported with the twin cam 4G91 1.5L. The Wira 1.3 GL launched in 1995 uses the Mitsubishi 4G13 1.3 litre twelve valve engine which is also used in the Saga. Also in 1996, a 2.0 litre diesel powered variant (badged as the 2.0D, D, TD, TDi or SDi depending on the market) was also offered. In the Malaysian domestic market this was phased out in later years due to lack of interest from consumers, a result of a road tax rate which was higher on diesel-powered private vehicles than gasoline-powered ones of equivalent displacement (until the tax was revised in 2008). The Wira 1.8 EXi in 1996 used a 1.8L 16 valve
DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combus ...
engine with multi point fuel injection, making the Wira the first Proton car to be powered by a DOHC engine. 1.3 Wira's were sold with 5-speed manual transmissions only. 1.5 Wira's were sold with either a 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission. 1.6 and 1.8 Wira's were sold with either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission.


Safety

Like most other Proton cars of its time, the Proton Wira did not offer any safety features other than the standard three-point safety belts with pretensioners and
laminated Simulated flight (using image stack created by μCT scanning) through the length of a knitting needle that consists of laminated wooden layers: the layers can be differentiated by the change of direction of the wood's vessels Shattered windshi ...
windshield The windshield (American English and Canadian English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from t ...
. Export models however saw a much better build quality with safety features such as a driver
airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate in milliseconds during a collision and then deflate afterwards. It consists of an airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. ...
, door intrusion bars and ABS, which were also available as options in the later Malaysian models.


Exports

The Wira remains the company's most widely exported model to date, spanning over seventy countries in
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
,
Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
,
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
,
The Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
and
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
. The Wira was also the first Proton to be assembled outside its home country,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. It was assembled in neighbouring
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, as well as
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Proton had planned to assemble the Wira in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and other markets, but was held back by the
1997 Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide eco ...
. The Wira saw its British debut in November 1993, where it was renamed Proton Persona. The Persona effectively replaced the original Proton and the Mpi facelift in the British market, although both Mpi and Persona models were sold in parallel for a further three years, until Mpi imports ended in 1996. As with the Mpi, the Persona used multi point
fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of a fuel injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All c ...
to comply with the Euro emissions standards. Personas converted to LPG fuel were used extensively by
Humberside Police Humberside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the East Riding of Yorkshire, including Kingston upon Hull, and northern parts of Lincolnshire, including Grimsby and Scunthorpe. History Humberside Police was created ...
, with the force operating a total 120 Personas delivered between 1997 and 2002 for general purpose and unmarked use, as well as a number of Proton Compacts. A Compact GTI, developed in conjunction with
Lotus Cars Lotus Group (also known as Lotus Cars) is a British multinational automotive manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric vehicles. Lotus Group is composed of three primary entities. Lotus Cars, a high-performance sports car company, is ba ...
with a 1.8-litre engine capable of producing 133 bhp, was also trialled with Humberside in 1999. The force aimed to convert most of its entire fleet to LPG fuel for cost-saving purposes upon the delivery of the Personas, subsequently going on to take bi-fuel petrol-LPG Impians from 2002 onwards. Between 2001 and 2004, the Wira in the UK used VDO-Siemens engine management systems. The saloon was offered with two variants: 1.3 Li and 1.5 Lxi while the aeroback was offered with four variants: 1.3 Li, 1.5 Lxi, 1.5 Lux and 1.6 Exi. The Persona was later complemented by a three-door hatch called the Persona Compact, as well as the two door Persona Coupé. From August 2000, the Satria and Wira nameplates were extended to the British market, and the Coupé was discontinued there when production ended in 2001. The Wira was subsequently replaced by the all new
Proton GEN•2 The Proton GEN•2 (often simplified as Gen-2 or GEN2) is a Compact car, compact 5-door liftback manufactured by Malaysian automobile manufacturer Proton (automobile), Proton which launched in 2004. It was initially codenamed ''Wira Replacement ...
in the end of 2004. The Wira was launched into the
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n market in May 1995, and was renamed to Proton Persona in November 1996. The Wira is the only Proton model to be offered with a
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
, namely Mitsubishi's 2.0 L Sirius 4D68 in-line four engine. Proton needed a diesel engine to further establish themselves in Europe, where diesel engined passenger cars are popular. The 4D68 diesel was produced in both naturally aspirated and
turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...
offerings, where the former produced 64 hp and the latter managed 80 hp. However, the turbocharged 4D68 could produce 172 Nm of torque, more than any other engine offered in the Wira range, and compared to just 123 Nm without the turbocharger. Most European markets received the turbo diesel, but a handful, such as Germany received the naturally aspirated diesel as well, in both four door and five door guises. In Malaysia, Proton sold the naturally aspirated diesel as the Wira 2.0D, but it was limited to the four door sedan. In 2005, Zagross Khodro began assembly of Wira
complete knock down A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, and then exported to another country or r ...
units for the
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
ian market as part of a deal with Proton. Export Proton Wiras used a different Proton badge compared to the badge found on Wiras for the Malaysian market.


Sales


References

{{Proton vehicles Wira Cars introduced in 1993 Cars discontinued in 2009 2000s cars Compact cars