The Proton Satria Neo has somewhat made a resurgence into public view with its cameo appearance in the hit Netflix action movie Extraction, where it was also joined in the movie by the Savvy and the Saga FL.
Proton’s three-door hatch form has also be given a reinterpretation courtesy of digital rendering maestro Theophilus Chin, who gave a rendition of what could be a shortened Proton Iriz with two fewer doors, dubbed the Iriz Neo. Here, though, is a set of renditions by Saharudin Busri who, instead of using the more recent Iriz as a base, employed the form of the Satria Neo as the basis for his graphic renditions.
The lifted bodystyle is apt, given that Proton’s recent focus on SUVs such as the X70, which has since been offered as a locally assembled model, and a forthcoming B-segment SUV based on the Geely Binyue/Coolray – widely tipped to be named the X50 – is slated for debut later this year. The Satria Neo’s more rounded glasshouse and roofline relative to those of the Iriz remain evident here, and the design on show here employs a selection of SUV/crossover styling cues, such as roof rails, extended black plastic wheel arch cladding, faux skid plate trim at the base of the front bumper with matching pieces beneath the side sills and rear bumper, with larger wheels shod in tyres in the style of all-terrain items.
The rear bumper features a twin exhaust outlet arrangement which recalls the Satria GTi of the late ’90s, while further up from here is a roof spoiler for additional sporting flair. At both ends, the Satria Neo’s headlamp and tail light clusters have been brought up to date with a more modern design, each corner featuring a four-element design and joined by a circular LED DRL surrounding each foglamp. To these eyes, this rendition offers a nice element of sportiness to the lifted, crossover look, even if it has been applied to the discontinued Satria Neo instead of a model from the current Proton model range.
