Euro expo rrr:2 col articles 26/11/08 16:51 Page 16

BBaannkkiinngg oonn eennhhaanncceedd eeaarrnniinngg ppoowweerr Undaunted by all the talk of credit crunch and recession, several manufacturers had new all-singing, all-dancing models to put on display at last month’s Euro Bus Expo show. And buyers were not as hard to find as you might imagine. Wilcox reports.

nly a few years after breaking through the £200,000 barrier, One trademark feature of the Elite unveiled last month, a 14- price tags on the plushest three-axle coaches are now metre three-axle model based on ’s 6x2 rear-steer B12BT Onudging £300,000, judging by several exhibits at the Euro underframe, is a long front overhang. This allows for an Bus Expo show in ’s National Exhibition Centre last exceptionally-wide front entrance which is not only big enough to month. How can such stratospheric capital costs be justified when accommodate a DDA (Disability Discrimination Act)-compliant the UK economy is dipping sharply into recession and belt- wheelchair lift when required but also gives the driver acres of tightening is the order of the day? Coach-buyers are banking, it space, enough even for a locker behind the . seems, on the enhanced earning power of longer coaches with The distinctive Elite roofline results mainly from mounting the air- greater seating capacity and eye-catching specifications. Arguably conditioning unit towards the front and blending it in nicely with the most striking of all the costly new super-cruisers on show at curvaceous exterior styling (by Capoco Design of Salisbury, the NEC last month was ’s Elite. This is not the first Plaxton Wiltshire). Aerodynamic efficiency is helped by low roof height at body to bear this name (the original Elite was around in the the rear of the coach, 3.7 metres at its tallest. A glazed panel 1970s) but the Scarborough-based hopes it will be above the main windscreen affords passengers (up to a maximum the first to put Plaxton among the top echelon of the UK coach of 59) an unobstructed forward view. market, complementing the current range-topping Panther body. Bodywork framing is in welded stainless-steel. The roof and body

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Plaxton Elite: plush accommodation clubs, has added a 13.99-metre, 3.97-metres-tall tri-axle Starliner for passengers and driver. L to its fleet. Despite its height, this is no double-decker, so passengers in all (52) enjoy a spectacularly-elevated view sides are lightweight one-piece from atop almost 13 cubic metres of luggage space between the panels in GRP (glass reinforced axles. plastic) bonded to the body’s Impressive on-road performance is promised by MAN’s Euro-4 framework. Only the locker doors 12.4-litre D26, producing 473hp at 1,900rpm and 2,300Nm of (pneumatically-operated) are torque at 1,100-1,400rpm. A skinned in aluminium. Weight 498hp version of this engine is to details have yet to be published be added to the Starliner option but already Plaxton is claiming list next year. The gearbox is ZF’s the Elite is the lightest coach in 12-speed AS Tronic. Extras such its class. as adaptive cruise control ( ACC ) Interior trim generally is and lane guard system ( LGS ) are suitably upmarket, though an air thought to have pushed the cost of high quality tends to be spoilt by a loud plasticky ratcheting of Ellison’s Starliner to a cool sound from hinge-down trays on the backs of leather-trimmed £340,000. Fainsa Gala seats. The irritating noise has not gone unnoticed by Mentor Coach and Bus, which Plaxton managing director Bob Coombes who says he has been had been the sole MAN and assured it will diminish with use. coach dealer in the UK, All the first Elites will be on three-axle Volvo underframes, but collapsed in the summer. So now there are plans next year to offer the body with MAN and Irisbus Swindon-based MAN and Eurorider running gear. Eurorider Elites are likely to be two-axle Bus UK has formed its own direct models. At 13.2 metres long, these will be among the longest of all sales operation for Neoplan two-axle coaches (the legal limit is 13.5 metres), testifying to the coaches and Plaxton- or Noge- Elite’s low weight. Satisfying legal limits on outswing with such long vehicles will be as tricky as ever, however. Neoplan Starliner 2: Elite prices range from £255,000 to £300,000, according to late in the UK. specification. The show model has a Euro-5, 420hp D12 engine and is near the top-end of the price spectrum. Its buyer is Country Lion Coaches of Northampton. Another order, for 10, has come from Logan’s Executive Travel of Ballymena, . Such early demand has given Mr Coombes the confidence to set a 2009 sales target of 40 Elites. One of the new Plaxton coach’s most obvious rivals is the Neoplan Starliner 2. Since the current model was introduced four years ago around 400 have been built but none has been sold to a UK operator, until now. Ellison’s Travel Service of St Helens, a specialist in corporate travel, including top football

December 2008 Transport Engineer 17 Euro bus expo rrr:2 col articles 26/11/08 16:51 Page 18

bodied MAN coaches. And the 71 MAN truck service locations in the UK have been organised into a three-tier (“premium”, “specialist” and “service”) bus and coach service network. Like the Neoplan Starliner, ’s TD921 Altano has been around for several years in continental Europe but is a newcomer to the UK. Wigan- based Eavesway Travel is the first UK operator to buy Altanos. It has put nine into service so far this

Van Hool Altano: novel low-floor entrance area can accommodate a wheelchair passenger.

year. The tenth was at Euro Bus Expo. This 14.4-metre tri-axle Student Agency. They have a Scania driveline whereas UK models coach is powered by a 456hp Daf 12.9-litre MX Euro-5 engine are likely to be built on MAN’s R37 underframe, according to the driving through a ZF AS Tronic automated-manual gearbox. The UK dealer BASE of Ormskirk, Lancashire. Beulas will also real novelty of this Belgian design is a two-door entrance opening build 13.0-, 13.7- and 14.4-metre versions of the Glory, all with to a large low-floor section ahead of the front axle, made possible three axles. by a 3.1-metre front overhang. This creates room for a pair of passenger/courier seats beside the driver, with three more Temsa passenger seats behind. All remaining seats are upstairs. The Turkish bus-builder Temsa claims to have sliced 800kg from the advantage of this configuration is that the pair of seats alongside weight of its 12.2-metre Safari HD coach by revising the semi- the driver can be removed to make space for a wheelchair integral construction. Zinc-galvanised steel panels previously were passenger, whose family or carer can occupy the seats behind the mounted on a mild-steel frame. Now both the frame and panels driver. The entrance is low enough to need only a portable ramp are made of stainless steel. rather than a wheelchair lift. Bus and Coach, Van Hool’s UK The 53-seat example at Euro Bus Expo, for Bibby’s of Ingleton, agent, says a typical Altano price is £300,000 plus. Spanish bodybuilder Beulas is pitching for the top end of the coach market with its new Glory model. On show at Euro Bus Expo was the largest version, fully 15 metres in length. The layout of this tri-axle coach is similar to that of Neoplan’s Starliner, with a low driving-position and all seats (up to 73 in the 15-metre coach) perched high. Toilet, servery, driver’s bunk and 13 cubic metres of luggage space are underneath. Asking price is £290,000–£300,000. The first examples of the Glory are shuttling between Prague and on a service run by a Czech Republic operator called

Beulas Glory: 15-metre coach can carry up to 73 passengers.

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Temsa: cutting weight from Safari coach and exploring new avenues with the, er, Avenue bus.

the OmniExpress to replace the Berkhof Axial body in the middle of its range as an alternative to bodies from . There are three versions of the right- hand-drive OmniExpress: a pair of 12.8-metre two-axle models (at 3.4 or 3.6 metres tall) and a 3.6-metres-high, 14-metres-long three-axle version with steered rear-axle. All are built around the Scania KEB underframe, with engine mounted vertically and longitudinally at the rear, and side-mounted radiator on the has an unladen weight of 12.46 tonnes. The engine is the Euro-5 nearside. The five-cylinder 8.9-litre engine is available but the version of Daf’s 9.2-litre PR, rated at a nominal 360hp. ZF more likely choice at Euro-4 is the 11.7-litre DC12 engine rated at supplies the axles and six- speed automatic gearbox. 340hp and matched to a ZF six-speed automatic gearbox. There Temsa’s UK distributor Arriva Bus and Coach says it has been will be no Euro-5 version of the 11.7-litre engine, so then most UK selling between five and 10 Safari coaches a year but is aiming to operators probably will go for the 360hp, 8.9-litre. step that up to 15-20, driven on by Temsa’s ambitious OmniExpress bodywork is built by Lahden of Finland around a management in Turkey. The numbers may be swelled by a 12.9- stainless-steel framework. Only the lower panels and locker metre version of the Safari due to be added to the Arriva Bus and hatches are in aluminium; the upper side-panels and roof is GRP Coach UK line-up. Arriva’s bus-operating division is the first customer for the Temsa Avenue, a 12-metre low-floor city- bus unveiled at the Hanover commercial vehicle show a few months ago. Arriva is to take the first batch of right-hand-drive models in the second half of next year. The Avenue is offered with one, two or three doors and either as a complete low-floor bus or with just low-entry. Engine choice is between a six-cylinder, 6.7-litre Cummins ISB at 247hp, and a 9.2-litre Daf PR at 306hp. The two gearbox options are a four- Scania OmniExpress: mid-range speed Voith and six-speed ZF, coach with Finnish bodywork is new both fully automatic with integral to UK. retarders. The rear axle is a portal design by ZF.

Scania When Scania’s OmniExpress coach was unveiled a year ago (Transport Engineer November 2007) there were no plans for it to come the UK. But now the top brass at Scania Great Britain want Euro bus expo rrr:2 col articles 26/11/08 16:51 Page 20

bonded to the frame. This helps to cut unladen weight to a reasonable 13.4 tonnes for a 3.4- metre-high two-axle model with 55 seats. The first OmniExpress for the UK has gone to Radley Holidays of Brigg, North Lincolnshire, with another five right-hand-drive versions currently in build at Lahden’s factory.

Optare The styling of ’s new Rapta double-decker ( Transport Engineer November) seemed to be warmly received by many Euro Bus Expo visitors. But the reaction to the latest incarnation of the Solo, Solo+, was more

Optare Solo: morphs into Solo+ with a fresh face.

mixed. Critics say the new Optare- family front styling lacks the charm of the original and the decided to cater for a wide range of tastes by keeping two older eye-catching versions of the Solo in production. appeal of the Solo Interior styling of the the new Solo+ has already attracted some SR’s curvaceous criticism. Although light and airy as well as being easy to clean, it roofline, all looks hard, cold and unwelcoming. The seats chosen for the introduced a year Euro Bus Expo exhibit do not help. The Vogel Pino moulded plastic ago ( Transport seats are wafer-thin to make the most of available legroom. And as Engineer Optare commercial director Glenn Saint points out, at only 12kg a November 2007). pair they are around 10kg lighter than most alternatives, worth Optare’s management team is anxious not to alienate faithful Solo around 150kg on the average Solo and furthering Optare’s customers, not least because this vehicle accounted for 85 per cent renowned quest for weight saving. But there is precious little of the firm’s production last year. This helps explain why, though padding beneath their leather facings and they contribute to the keen to cut the number of manufacturing permutations, Optare has cold, hard look of the interior.

Wrightbus Mark-two versions of the Gemini double- decker and two single-deckers, the Eclipse and Pulsar, have been introduced by

Wrightbus Eclipse 2: sharper front lights and more curvy at the rear.

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Euro Coach Builders: Arora 200 is latest stab at adding some style to Vario-based midi-coach.

body and long rear overhang. The latest attempt to break the mould is by Euro Coach Builders of Letterkenny, County Donegal, Irish Republic. Its 8.5-metre, 29-seat Arora 200 is built on the 8.2-tonnes-gvw Vario 816D chassis. Euro Coach Builders is proud of the speed with which it was developed using Catia CAD /CAM (computer aided design/computer aided manufacture) software. The design is reckoned to allow for new production methods that make it quicker to build the up-market Arora than the company’s other Vario-based -coach, the more traditionally styled V29/33. The steel-framed Arora’s roof is a single GRP moulding, for example, whereas the V29/33’s roof is a three-piece component. The front and rear panels are also GRP . The body sides are in aluminium. The design brief also included a left-hand-version to support Euro’s ambitions to break into the continental market with the Arora. The company also intends to move into the midi-bus market. K

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Wrightbus of Ballymena. They get a minor facelift, including new Heavy duty batteries front-lamp clusters and more curvaceous styling at the rear. Crash from oe 2 truck+ protection for the driver is also said to have been improved. Varta Pro Motive Wrightbus is trying a new method of fixing lower body panels, Varta Motive eliminating all visible surface fixings and making them quicker to Freedom remove for repair. There are still hidden fixings at the top of the Powertech panel and upward-facing fixing bolts on the underside of the The oe2 Truck+ Powertech range provides a competitively panels, but something akin to industrial-strength Velcro is now priced, quality alternative to its used to secure panels to the framing, preventing panel flutter. Varta premium products. Lothian of has ordered the first 10 Eclipse 2 single-deckers, with Euro-5 versions of the 7.1-litre Volvo/Deutz engine in the Volvo B7RLE underframe. Lothian has specified an unusual back-lit ceiling panel resembling a starry sky. There are fluorescent tubes behind the panel in the first but Wrightbus intends to adopt LED (light emitting diodes) in future. LED saloon lights are another of the upgrades that can be specified on the mark-two versions of Eclipse, Gemini and Pulsar.

Euro Coach Builders Injecting style and beauty into Mercedes Vario-based midi-coaches To find your nearest oe 2 distributor call Bryan on 01204 856770 has long been seen by bodybuilders as a difficult challenge. The or email: [email protected] Vario has a high floor and small (17.5-inch) wheels so the result is Quality without Compromise invariably an ungainly ugly duckling with a disproportionately-tall

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