Rumours of a Proton Suprima S with a manual transmission have been circulating ever since the car was launched two years ago, but Proton has yet to deliver a stick shift variant. That is, until we spotted this particular Suprima S..
When this car passed me on the PLUS highway earlier today, I noticed it was using a trade plate. No surprises there, as Proton dealers do occasionally deliver cars in this fashion. What caught my eye, was actually the CFE emblem on the top left of the rear boot.
Now, you may be asking, hasn’t Proton dropped the CFE nameplate when the Suprima S was launched? You’d be right, as Proton is currently using a more conventional TURBO nameplate for selected variants of the Preve and Exora. But a CFE emblem on a Suprima S? Now, that certainly caught my attention.
Exterior wise, there’s not no much to differentiate this Suprima S with any other Suprima S on the road, which leaves the possibility of being a facelift out.
What we do believe, is that Proton is still testing the manual variant of the Suprima S. Yes, you read that right. Proton is likely priming the Suprima S for overseas market, especially in the EU, as they favour the stick shift over an automatic. The manual gearbox, we believe, will be supplied by Getrag, and will have six forward gears.
Whether or not the manual variant of the Proton Suprima S will be launched locally is anyone’s guess, but do keep your fingers crossed that Proton might just offer this to Malaysians.
Stay tuned for more juicy info!
