When we speak about the Nurburgring Nordschleife – which we do, a lot – it’s usually about the wildest supercars setting the shortest time around the “green hell”; the Proton Wira would have never crossed our minds. But that’s exactly what the Gravemade brothers of the Dutch DIY Mechanics YouTube channel did – taking a Proton Wira onto the Nurburgring Nordschleife for what might well possibly be the first-ever lap by the Malaysian-made car.
But why a Proton Wira in particular? In the first instalment of the Project Proton series, the brothers said that they wanted a track car made specifically for the Nurburgring Nordschleife that was cheap and wouldn’t cause too much heartaches if they crash it – which seemed pretty logical, seeing that they now live about 90 minutes away from the famed race track.
Behind that logical surface explanation though, there was actually a much more personal reason behind the purchase. In a post on Instagram speaking about their purchase, the Gravemade brothers revealed that they actually spent their childhood growing up in Malaysia, thus buying the Wira was “just a matter of time”.
Unfortunately, the faulty engine in their first 1.3L Proton Wira Aeroback (sold as the 413GLSi in Germany) proved too much work to solve, and they had to then source for a second 4G13 engine from a Mitsubishi – which, due to problematic electrical wirings, also failed to get the car running properly.
In a last ditch effort, the Gravemade brothers decided to purchase a second Proton Wira – this time a 1.5-litre model with a working 4G15 engine, which just needed a quick tune-up to get it in great running condition ready for the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
Several modifications were made to the Proton Wira to get it ready for the Nurburgring, which includes a stripped-out interior with Sparco racing seats for the front passengers, high-performance brake pads and shoes, 15-inch OZ Wheels with semi-slick tyres, as well as a sportier APEX suspension springs.
To give it a true Malaysian vibe (and a play on ‘ring-taxi’), the dutch brothers even wrapped the Proton Wira in a red and white colour scheme in reference to the taxis in KL, finished with a yellow and white “Teksi Ampang” badge reading “DDM Dutch Mechanics Sdn Bhd”, along with actual Malaysian taxi paraphernalia and the iconic McDonald’s drive-through VIP Sticker sent to them by a Malaysian fan.
Almost exactly one year after getting their hands on their first Proton Wira, the Gravemade brothers finally took their purpose-made track car for an emotional lap on the Nurburgring. You can watch the full lap (and a second lap done in August), as well as the entire build log over at the Dutch DIY Mechanics YouTube channel.
