Rather changes were mostly cosmetic that included the headlights internal casing painted black, an addition of an engine cover, hollow race style headrests for the front seats, revised metre graphics, gunmetal finish for the dashboard centre cluster, aluminum pedal, and a yellow gear shifter base.

The Satria GTi could sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds, making it among the fastest Proton production models ever produced.

It was equipped with air-conditioning, ABS, dual front power windows, electric mirrors and Recaro seats.

[10] A concept Proton Cabriolet was shown at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show, with ambitions for sales in the UK from 1999 but this did not happen.

The body shell has been improved with double stitch welded monocoque chassis with front and rear strut tower brace bars.

Based on a new platform developed in-house by Proton (with some parts borrowed from the bigger Gen-2 and Waja), the car was only available in a three-door hatchback guise.

The car was developed at a cost of RM500 million and four years, and was expected by Proton to generate a monthly sales volume of 2,000 - 2,500 units.

All cars have the option of either 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic gearboxes supplied by Mitsubishi that are carried over from the previous Satria, with the H-line benefiting from safety features such as twin airbags, ABS with EBD and seatbelt pre-tensioners.

It comes with an aggressively styled body kit and spoiler that pays homage to the Satria GTi, most notably with the addition of bolt-on wheel arches.

It is powered by a 1.6-litre CamPro CPS engine with 125 bhp (93 kW; 127 PS) and 150 N⋅m (110 lb⋅ft) of torque which reportedly does not suffer from the torque dip of older CamPro engines; however, the timing of the cam profile switching mechanism is slightly modified for aggressive driving – the CPS mechanism in the Satria Neo CPS changes from low cam to high cam at 4,400 rpm rather than at 3,800 rpm as in the other CPS-equipped models such as the Proton Waja and Proton Gen-2, as well as the Proton Exora.

The engine now produces 145 bhp (108 kW; 147 PS), approximately 13.8 percent more power than a normal CamPro CPS.

Few enhancements were put in place such as the engine start button, dark green Nappa leather and an alloy pedal set and gear knob.

[20] Available only 150 units[21] in bright red with a black roof, it cost RM79,797.00 and featured a metal plaque with its individual number, built-in 2-DIN navigation system, the first in Proton's history.

It was fitted with the old Satria Neo CPS bodykit mated to new R3 Design 16-inch alloy rims, R3 front splitter and R3 rear spoilers and side mouldings in addition to leather upholstery, red-coloured dashboard trims and various other R3 extras on the interior.

Prior to its launch, the concept model for the 2011 Proton Satria Neo R3 was debuted during the Tokyo Auto Salon 2011.

Optional decals and performance equipment such as ECU upgrades and full exhaust systems were also made available by Proton.

The 2013 Satria Neo R3 is fitted with dual airbags, ABS with EBD and is offered in manual and auto transmissions with a choice of 3 colours: silver, black and red.

A pair of Proton Satria Neo S2000s were used in an episode of Top Gear, in a race between the British presenters and their Australian counterparts at Cornbury Park, a former Rally GB venue.

In January 2011, Proton announced that Japanese auto parts company CUSCO would be buying standard road-going Satria Neo body shells to engineer and homologate according to FIA Group N regulation competition use.

The Group N Proton Satria Neo rally cars will be based on stock standard road-registered 1600cc showroom models acquired by CUSCO, homologated according to FIA regulations for competition use, and retrofitted with CUSCO-developed aftermarket performance and race components.