Ever since this Satria had came out, I had fell in love with it and even hope to own it at some point.
The Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing Edition was introduced in 2010 and production capped at 25 units. The asking price of such beauty is RM115k.
Judging from the looks, people might write it off as another cosmetic exercise to dress up a normal car to make it unique. However, things are usually beyond what we can see on the surface and it requires us to dig deeper into it.
Firstly, the 1.6-liter Campro engine was given an upgrade as it now generates 145hp and 158Nm of torque. This had indirectly help to shaved off the acceleration figure from 10.5 seconds to 9.2 seconds. Not so shabby for what alot of people consider to be a warm hatch.
Secondly, it had received a 5spd manual gearbox with revised ratios and this allows it to rev up to 7500rpm on every gear. Furthermore, the suspension also received some tasty bits which includes Ohlins DFV fully-adjustable coil overs, revised spring and damper rates, stiffer rubber bushes and revised suspension geometry.
This had contributed to a weight reduction of 62kg, making it lighter and helps to deliver "racecar-like direct steering input and cornering precision".
Additionally, brakes had been upgraded with front using 4-pot AP Racing brakes while the rear make do with a single-pot version.
Last but not least, tyres were also upgraded as it is now wrapped with Bridgestone Adrenaline rubbers that houses the 16-inch Advanti rims to give it better on-road performance.