Proton Waja History

The Waja (meaning 'steel' or 'brave' in Malay) debuted in August 2000 under the premiership of Mahathir Mohamad as the first Proton model designed in-house by Malaysian engineers, rather than rebadged from a Mitsubishi template. Although its platform drew on elements from the Mitsubishi Carisma/Volvo S40 architecture and early cars used Mitsubishi and Renault engines, the car's body design, interior, and engineering were Proton's own work — a milestone that made Malaysia the 11th country in the world capable of designing a car from the ground up.

When Proton's own CamPro engine became available, a CamPro-powered Waja was introduced, replacing the earlier Mitsubishi 4G18 unit. The Waja also offered a 1.8L Renault F4P for buyers wanting more performance. Sold in the UK as the Proton Impian, it ran until June 2011 with over 292,000 units produced.