Start with what the Proton EMAS is: a 3 door and 5 door hatchback with 1.2 liter three-cylinder flex-fuel capable gasoline, built from 2010, as electrification stopped being an experiment and the crossover took every market. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Italdesign Giugiaro.
The story
Proton EMAS is a range of concept cars designed by Italdesign Giugiaro and developed by Proton. It debuted at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show as a hybrid vehicle. "EMAS" is an acronym for Eco Mobility Advance Solution.
The word "emas" means "gold" in Malay. Proton EMAS was planned to be Malaysia's and Proton's first global car and was expected to be in production by 2012. As of August 2014 the concept car had not reached production. Proton's subsidiary Lotus Cars has shown a plug-in hybrid city concept car based on the EMAS named the Lotus Ethos.
What is underneath
The engine is 1.2 liter three-cylinder flex-fuel capable gasoline. On the scales it comes to 1400 kg. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2600 mm interior. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Lexus LFA, the Nissan Leaf, the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Nearby in the Proton catalogue sit the Proton Perdana and the Proton Arena.