[GB] Euro Bus Expo 08 Part 1 - ADL

After much anticipation, the Euro Bus Expo 2008 was finally held at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham earlier this week. This year's show is particularly looked forward by everyone in the industry because, for the first time since the influx of low floor buses, we have seen a major technology leap of bus and coach development - in the form of diesel-electric hybrid-drivetrain. Most of the major coachbuilders attended the show - ADL, Volvo, Optare, Scania and Wrightbus got to present their hybrid solutions in the show, and of course, at the same time launching their latest offer.

Because of the vast amount of materials, I will break it down into different parts and go through them over teh coming weekend. And we kick off with what will probably interests folks here most of all - Alexander Dennis.

For ADL, this year's show is all about, obviously, their hybrid products. Two were shown in the show, the Enviro 200H and 400H:



The single deck Enviro 200H is, of course, based on the Enviro200Dart. However, it is hardly the first hybrid bus that they have presented. 'm not talking about the Enviro 500H that went to the US a few months ago, but the old Enviro 200H that was displayed in Coach & Bus 2003 some 5 years ago.



The "Mark. 2" E200H doesn't seem to share much with the forgotten "Mark 1" version. The drivetrain is developed by BAE Systems North Amercia, which is a very popular system used in the USA.



Inside, the biggest difference of the hybrid version, comparing to the diesel E200Dart, is the enlarged engine compartment at the offside rear to fit the drivetrain, and the batterys go to the roof pod.



The other hybrid bus ADL displayed is of course the Enviro 400H. It also has the BAE Systems designed drivetrain, and of course, is based on the Trident underpin:



This vehicle is one of the 10 order by Metroline for service on the 16 in London. It is expected to work alongside the diesel-powered Enviro 400s for comparative evaluation.



Of course, existing products like the Enviro 300 and 400 were on show as well. One interesting point of note is the E400 has got its radiator moved to the offside - all Tridents and earlier E400s have their radiator fitted on the nearside.



The E400 also receive some minor makeovers, including yet another new dashboard with colour LCD display and, for the first time from what I know, a rev counter:





On the coach side, the hot news is all about Plaxton latest offer: the Elite. Two vehicles were on show, both of them on Volvo B12B chassis, on the ADL and Volvo stands respectively:



The new bodywork is not, initially anyway, intended as a replacement of the existing Paragon/Panther product lines, but a new high-end model to compete against the likes of Neoplan Starliners, Jonckheere SH, Volvo's owned 9700 and so on.



To do that, Plaxton has pulled out a very impressive product, with a classy interior for both passengers and drivers/









The displayed vehicles don't seem to have any wheelchair lift fitted, but looking at the size of the door, it would be a surprise if Plaxton's MagicFloor cannot be fitted onto the Elite as well:



- End of Part 1 -

For E400H, it seems that the battery pack doesn't occupy any space inside the compartment., which is unlike with the E500H in the USA

原帖由 ATE2 於 2008-11-6 22:16 發表
For E400H, it seems that the battery pack doesn't occupy any space inside the compartment., which is unlike with the E500H in the USA

They managed that only because the E400H hasn't got the air-cond unit at the back, which is where the battery pack goes. The same goes for the B5L and Wright's Gemini 2 HEV.

[ 本帖最後由 NV58 於 2008-11-6 22:40 編輯 ]