Founded in 1978 in Jakarta, Interna Motor originally started as a diesel engine importer by the name of Interna Engineering. The great development in Indonesia at the time push the demand of construction machines, which most of them are powered by diesel engines. To accomodate the demands, Interna opened its first factory in 1982. The same year Interna (with its subsidiaries, Interna Motor) signed a deal with Indonesian goverment to develop the national sports car of Indonesia. The goal is to make an affordable, yet powerful and fuel efficient sports car. With the help of some Japan manufacturer in design, its first car, Mesa, was introduced in 1987
[size=150]Mesa[/size]
Specs sheet
The Mesa originally sold well, Its lightweight size and affordable price (compared with Japanese cars) make Mesa become one of popular vehicle among teenagers around that time. However, engine reliability issue decreases the sale of Mesa in the next 2 years. Mesa was discontinued in 1990, after only selling 575 units in 1989 (compared with 3.240 units in 1988 and 2.255 units in 1987)
The Indonesian goverment was disappointed with Mesa’s sale report, and finally decided to terminate the deal with Interna Motor in 1990. Interna Motor itself continued to sell car, becoming importer for a certain American brand.
Later in 1992, Interna Motor was sold to an Indonesian magnate, still linked with the Indonesian leader, Soeharto, and become a spin-off company of Interna Engineering. This mark the reemergence of Interna Motor.
[size=150]Macan[/size]
Inspired by American coupe design and the lightweight of Japanese sports car, the Interna Macan was introduced as a concept in 1993 and sold in 1995. Its name derived from the Javanese word of tiger. The Macan was designed as a “sports car for the masses”, the same goal as the Mesa. Macan brought a lot of improvement over Mesa, such as improved engine, better interior design, and a lot more.
Specs sheet
[size=150]Lombok[/size]
Macan selling quite well, prompting Interna to launch another car, this time for more broader market (Mesa was only sold in Indonesia whilist Macan only sold in Asia). Hiring Italian designer, the Lombok was introduced. Inspired by the chili peppers by the same name, this was meant to be a competitor of competing hot hatch at the time. It was introduced in 1996 and was intented to start selling in 1997
Specs sheet
Unfortunately due to Asian economic crisis in 1997, Lombok was abruptly cancelled only months after its launch due to company restructuration. Rumours said that there’s only 500 units of Lombok sold around the world (out of rumoured 3.500 units produced at the time).
This is the first part of Interna Motor. I will post more cars later.
