The Business Times report revealed that a clay model of the car already exists at the design house’s headquarters in Turin, Italy.
The sedan is aimed at widening Proton's market, which at present is largely limited to Malaysia and its Asean neighbours.
It will be engineered to meet tougher European and North American standards although its marketing in these regions has not been finalised.
Strategies are being thought of and one option would be to market the car in some of the new markets, such as in Europe and North America, through collaborations with local established brands under which Proton could earn revenue from intellectual property rights.
Syed Zainal Abidin said the new car will incorporate plenty of new technologies and Proton is already talking to potential global suppliers on several inputs for the car.
"The objective is to produce a car very different from current Proton vehicles," he said.
Other strategies are also being explored for its other models. The Waja is headed for an enhancement programme through a collaboration with Japanese giant Mitsubishi and the same arrangement is being undertaken with another company to study options for the Perdana.
Eventually, Proton will produce a sport utility vehicle (SUV). Syed Zainal Abidin has said that the company intends to have a full range of products for its customers.
Exploratory talks with potential partners on an SUV programme have started, including with a Chinese car company.
It is also inevitable that Proton will have to look into the hybrid car segment.
Although it may be a while before it mass-produces an electric car, Proton, through UK unit Lotus Cars, has started talks with a South Korean battery company and an electric motor corporation.
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