KUALA LUMPUR: Yesterday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced Turkish exotic-car maker Onuk had indicated a willingness to cooperate with Malaysia to produce "super cars".
The announcement followed Dr Mahathir's four-day visit to Turkey, during which the prime minister also offered Turkish captains of industry Malaysian expertise to produce their own national car based on the success garnered by Proton and Perodua.
Dr Mahathir said he had long been aware of Turkish companies’ capability but only recently had he seen it first-hand.
“And now they are ready to collaborate... not only with that type of car (super car) but also with other cars," he said.
He was speaking to Malaysian reporters at the end of his official visit to Turkey at the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (ISGIA).
The Onuk Sazan and Onuk S56/G super car models were exhibited there and Dr Mahathir inspected the cars before he left for home.
According to the website www.onuk.com, the company was founded in 1993, and currently two models are listed on the site, namely the Sazan LM and S56/G.
The Sazan is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car producing 505hp at 6,200rpm.
Performance figures are quite impressive, with a century sprint of less than 4 seconds and a top speed of more than 300kph.
Weighing just slightly over a ton, it is powered by Chevrolet's LS7, the same engine seen in the C6 Corvette Z06 and fifth-generation Camaro Z/28. This engine is available in crate form.
The transmission is a 6-speed manual transaxle sourced from Hewland, a British company which specialises in racing-car gearboxes. Hewland claims to have one of the largest ranges of off-the-shelf competition transmissions worldwide.
The other car on Onuk's website, the S56/G, is more of a 'modest' sports car with just 180hp and weighing in at 900kg.
Scant details are available on the website, but power is listed at 197hp from a 1.6 Ford Ecoboost engine. The transmission for the S56 is a 5-speed manual from Renault.
It is unclear whether either of these cars will be the basis for a collaboration with Onuk in Malaysia.