This is not the first REEV that we’ve seen from Proton.
There was an Exora REEV, but that was developed with Frazer-Nash and used a rotary engine as the range extender.
This system has been updated for the Preve REEV – the aluminum block engine is now 1.3 liter in size and has a supercharger, which allows it to produce more power.
According to the Proton engineers manning the booth, the more powerful generator engine allows the Preve REEV to maintain highways speeds even when the batteries have been exhausted, as the more powerful engine can now produce enough power in real time to keep the car going at high speeds.
It’s a prototype to test the REEV system, so the engine bay packaging hasn’t really been done to production car standards. As a result, the engine is mounted high, and the engine hood had to be modified with a bump to clear the engine. The 15.7 kWh lithium ion batteries are mounted under the floor, and the fuel tank has been moved a little to the rear to make way for this.
You can charge the batteries via a plug-in socket on the passenger side front fender, so the range extender only kicks in if your journey exceeds the battery’s capacity. The electric motor can do 80 kW (107 horsepower) and 170 Nm of torque.
The Preve REEV weighs 1,724 kg, but has an ECE R101 fuel consumption rating of 0.82 litres per 100 km. It only outputs 19.4 g/km of CO2 emissions on average, but if you can keep it on electric mode, it’s basically zero emissions. The 100 km/h sprint is done in 14.7 seconds.