Software designer's Iswara is the latest Proton VIP Extreme Makeover candidate

That's RM50K worth of restoration work your car will be getting

It is a good year to be an owner of a Proton with a good story, to date two lucky owners have had their car rebuilt from the ground up by the talented boys at the carmaker's R3 division and now it is the turn of software engineer Norzamzarini Mohd Bajuri to hand over his car for an extreme makeover.

We spoke to Tengku Djan Ley, Malaysia's Drift King and head of engineering at R3 about the level of work that goes into these restorations and he said, it would be cheaper to get a new car than to restore.

This is very true and most classic car owners know that restoration is very time consuming and expensive and typically run a bill that would make a brand new Proton Inspira cheap.

Djan said that after the first restoration a customer actually called up to find out how much it would cost for R3 to do a full restoration and after tallying up parts, labour and everything else it was determined that they would have to charge around RM50,000 for the work.



While this may sound extravagant, it is actually quite reasonable as a car restorer once told us that his price starts at RM90,000 for any bare-metal ground up restoration, regardless of the make and model.

Surprisingly, Djan said, the customer agreed to the price and wanted to have the earliest possible slot to have his sentimental ride returned to pristine condition.

The customer has been told that he could send his car sometime in February next year and has agreed to it. I hope he doesn't get cold feet as the date approaches.

In the meantime you can read the Press Release on the latest extreme makeover below.

PROTON GIVES SOFTWARE ENGINEER CAR MAKEOVER

SUBANG JAYA, 27 December 2011 – Software test engineer, Norzamzarini Mohd Bajuri, received a year-end surprise when PROTON announced him as the next recipient of its “Very Important PROTON” Makeover programme. This programme, which is part of the company’s “Committed to be Better” initiative highlights PROTON’s concerted efforts of improvement, particularly its commitment towards quality and customer care, and sees PROTON acknowledging and rewarding faithful customers who have supported the national car maker over the last 26 years.

35 year-old Norzamzarini, who hails from Muar, Johor, is the third recipient of “My Proton Makeover” and will have his 1996 Proton Iswara Aeroback reworked by the R3 unit of PROTON’s Motorsports Department.

“In his submission, Norzamzarini waxed lyrical about his love for his car. Its uniqueness really stood out,” said Mr. John D. Chacko, PROTON Director of Group Marketing, Branding and Motorsports. “We were quite taken by his expressiveness, ending his submission with what would best be described as him loving the car ‘till death do they part!’ ” 

The red Proton Iswara Aeroback 1.3 that will receive special treatment from PROTON’s R3 unit was a second-hand purchase by Norzamzarini in 1998. A keen Formula One follower and an avid Schumacher fan, he described a proud moment, the journey that he had, bringing his then-girlfriend to meet his parents.  That poignant moment as he described it, was akin to that of him being a prince astride his red stallion with his prized maiden.

“I am feeling really blessed, having been informed that the car I love will be getting a new lease of life,” said the father of four. “Coincidentally, just last week, my wife and I were blessed with our fourth child, a lovely baby girl who we named Nur Mawaddah, which means ‘a ray of love’. Having the two events happening so close to each other, I cannot help but feel that I have received a double blessing!”

Though excited, Norzamazrini was feeling a little hesitant when handing over the car to the R3 unit at the PROTON Center of Excellence in Subang Jaya. Later expressing some slight embarrassment because of the wear and tear of the car’s body work, he was set at ease after receiving a compliment about the pristine condition of the car’s engine.

Speaking on behalf of PROTON Motorsports, Head of Engineering of the R3 unit, Tengku Djan Ley complimented the condition of Norzamazrini’s car’s engine and expressed the team’s anticipation of working on yet another different PROTON car. “After reading Norzamazrini’s submission, and meeting him in person and hearing of him and his family and their new daughter, we are really looking forward to working on this car and giving them a gift for the new year,” he added. Norzamzarini’s Proton Iswara Aeroback is scheduled to be returned in January 2012.

Norzamazrini’s selection announcement comes off the back of the handing over of the second completed VIP Makeover car. 24 year-old engineer Sashideran Radha Krishnan from Klang, who was selected at the end of October, had his 17 year-old Proton Wira made over by the R3 unit. In a small ceremony held at PROTON’s Center of Excellence in Subang Jaya recently, Sashideran was handed back the keys to his refurbished car by Tengku Djan and R3 Unit team.

Three more lucky Proton car owners will be rewarded with a complete makeover of their car, courtesy of the “My Proton Makeover” contest, which ends on 28 December 2011. For more information, visit www.protonvip.com.