New Proton Arena – small pick-up based on S70?

The Proton S70 was launched towards the end of last year, bringing a new sedan model to the brand’s line-up, and has collected some 1,200 bookings as of its launch at the end of November 2023.

Healthy demand is in order for the sedan, though what about those who would like something of a similar size but which is more utilitarian? There already has been the Arena, otherwise known as the Jumbuck in markets such as Australia. Here, visual rendering whiz Theophilus Chin has given his take on what an S70-based ute could look like.

Starting at the rear of the Arena, which is the business end of any ute – Theophilus has looked to the wider Geely group for inventory, taking the tailgate and tail lamp assembly from the unibody Radar RD6 pick-up truck. ‘Proton’ lettering on the Arena rendition takes the place of Radar branding on the real-life model that offers its design elements, and the Arena similarly gets a faux diffuser beneath its rear bumper.

Moving along its cargo tray, the panel sculpting that is slightly squared on the Radar RD6 is substituted with the more conventionally rounded set from the S70 sedan, and in staying true to the Arena’s original form, this S70-based rendition is also made in a two-door, single-cab layout.

Further towards the front, Theophilus’ Arena rendition essentially carries over the front end of the S70, and in doing so, also mirrors the parallel between the Arena and the Wira, with which the real-life ute shares its frontal styling. Theoretically, shared underpinnings could mean that an S70-based ute would possibly bring the same powertrain choices offered on the sedan.

Speaking of which, the S70 in real life, being based on the Geely Emgrand, takes on the Geely BMA platform which brings it the powertrain from the Proton X50. Whereas the Emgrand gets a 1.5L naturally aspirated engine and CVT combination in other markets, the S70 in Malaysia is specified with a 1.5L port-injected three-cylinder engine with 150 PS and 226 Nm, paired with a dual-clutch transmission, and so that would, in theory, be the natural powerplant for this Arena.

Now, for that question – how many of you would buy one?