The Proton Waja (Proton Impian in Europe) is the first Proton to be designed and styled in-house. However, the car's chassis and engine were sourced and adapted from Mitsubishi (except for the 1,800 cc variant, which was powered by a Renault engine). The word Waja translates into English as "steel" while Impian translates into "dreams" or "ambition".
The name Impian was chosen as it was considered to be a more pleasant sounding word for the international market. In January 2006, the car was fitted with a CamPro engine which has been re-tuned to boost the horsepower to 86 kW (115 bhp) and 155 N-m of torque. This made it go full-circle, as the CamPro was originally developed for the Waja, but was deemed not ready for production when the Waja was launched, hence debuting in the Proton Gen-2. The facelifted 2007 Proton Waja was launched on 19 January 2007 with the new grille nearly identical to the Proton Savvy.
The Waja was also released as the Proton Chancellor, a variant for the executive market with a 250mm wheelbase stretch and luxury fittings and accessories, including a space-robbing rear centre console that restricts seating to four persons. It is fitted with the V6 engine from the Proton Perdana V6. It is a rare sight on Malaysian roads
