The Proton S70 R3 is almost ready for its Sepang 1000km Endurance Race (S1K) debut in November next month. This is the national carmaker’s first race car since 2019 with the Saga R3, and the brand is “venturing into uncharted waters” by turning a model co-developed with Geely to a competition car. Proton is doing that in just a year after the market launch of the S70, to boot.

If you’re wondering why the S70 R3 previewed here looks rather…well, plain, that’s because the racing livery has not been applied yet. Once that’s done, it should look similar to the S70 R3 Concept shown back at Malaysia Autoshow 2024 – with a different body kit, it seems – finished in the motorsport arm’s signature black and yellow colour scheme.

“Having not competed in the last three Sepang 1000km races, Proton is excited to be back on the starting grid in 2024. The Proton S70 R3 marks a new milestone for the brand as we take a model developed together with Geely into the heat of competition for the very first time,” said the Deputy CEO of Proton, Roslan Abdullah.

“A lot of challenges had to be overcome to get to this point with a number of modifications made to the standard car to ensure it met the regulations set, but thanks to our dedicated team at R3, we have managed to meet our goal of being ready for the race in November,” he added.

It’s worth noting that Proton will be bringing two units of the Proton S70 R3 to the Sepang 1000km Endurance Race, and it will not be using a proven, older model as backup. “We are determined to prove the abilities of the newest Proton sedan model in the racetrack and while we expect competition from teams who have actively competed the last three years, it is our belief the lessons learnt in racing will translate to us building better cars for our customers in the future,” Roslan Abdullah said.