Proton motorsport division, Proton R3 has officially unveiled the S70 R3 race car that it will field in the upcoming Sepang 1000KM race that is taking place next month at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit, as well as its line-up of drivers it has enlisted for the race.
The national carmaker’s motorsport division confirms what our ears have heard in prior teaser content Proton has released with regard to its S70 R3 racer, which is that the car does indeed house the 1.6 litre naturally aspirated, inline-four cylinder S4PH engine, and not the turbocharged, 1.5 litre inline-three cylinder engine as featured in the roadgoing S70 that is available for general sale.
The reason for using the naturally aspirated Campro engine is a straightforward one – technical regulations of the MTC category that Proton is entering in the Sepang 1000KM with the S70 R3, stipulates the use of a naturally aspirated engine with a maximum capacity of 1,600 cc. Therefore, the use of forced induction engines – such as the setup in the regular production S70 – is not allowed.
The decision to use the 1.6L Campro engine instead of converting the 1.5L three-pot for natural aspiration is because that engine was designed to work with forced induction, and to make it work as a naturally aspirated engine would require significant redevelopment.
In addition, the technical ruleset for the MTC category allows the use of engines from the same manufacturer, and using the existing 1.6L Campro engine also meant the benefit of proven equipment, as the powertrain had been used in the division’s past race cars including the Satria Neo, Preve, Suprima S, Iriz and Saga, and with considerable success, having amassed five wins at the Sepang 1000KM.
Using an existing powertrain also meant that development costs could be saved, while data from racing the engine can be applied to the otherwise new racer, and development in other areas of the car could be expedited because its powertrain has come from a race-winning recipe.
This approach is adopted elsewhere, too, as for instance, Toyota has built their GR Yaris Rally1 competition machine with the engine from a different model, namely the 1.6 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine from its predecessor, and not the 1.6 litre G16E-based engine as featured in the current roadgoing GR Yaris and GR Corolla.
Technical specifications of the 1.6L Campro engine in the S70 R3 race car have not been officially revealed, however prior iterations of this unit employed in the aforementioned Saga and Iriz race cars have been known to output in the region of 200 hp, sent through a five-speed ‘dog box’ manual transmission to the front wheels.
While the car shown here remains unadorned in its silver paint, the eventual racing livery to be run at the 2024 Sepang 1000KM will be that of the Malaysian Touring Car show unit displayed in May, said Proton.
Under the skin, the S70 R3 retains the road car’s suspension layout, being of MacPherson struts in front and a torsion beam setup at the rear. Suspension hardware on this car continues the use of Ohlins TTX units, as with the Iriz and Saga R3 race cars previously campaigned.
Rolling stock is a set of 15-inch Raxer RP10X flow-formed alloy wheels, shod in Hankook Ventus TD 195/55R15 tyres, while brakes are Alcon calipers front and rear, on slotted discs.
In the cockpit, the car displayed here features the Recaro RMS Carbon seat for the driver, along with widescreen display by Motec housed in a full carbon-fibre dashboard and interior door cards; the Iriz and Saga race cars adapted their respective production cars’ dashboards.
Proton R3 will field two cars at the 2024 Sepang 1000KM, bearing the numbers 81 and 82, respectively. Car 81 will be driven by Syafiq Ali and Fahrizal Hasan, while Car 82 will be driven by Ariff Azmi and Alister Yoong.
Proton Saga, Iriz race cars
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