East Lancs Kinetec
| East Lancs Kinetec | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | East Lancashire Coachbuilders |
| Production | 2006-2010 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1 |
| Floor type | Low floor |
| Chassis | MAN 18.240 (Kinetec) MAN ND283F (Kinetec+) |
| Related | East Lancs Esteem East Lancs Olympus |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | MAN |
The East Lancs Kinetec is a type of low-floor bus body manufactured by East Lancashire Coachbuilders for single and double-decker MAN Truck & Bus chassis. Both variants, built with Alcan aluminium extrusions, were launched at the 2006 Euro Bus Expo, notably featuring front fascia panels from MAN's integral Lion's City bus.
Design
Kinetec single-deck
The standard Kinetec is a single-deck bus body based on East Lancs' existing Esteem body. Reviews from its launch at the 2006 Euro Bus Expo were very poor.[citation needed]
Kinetec+ double decker
The Kinetec+ is a low-floor double-decker bus body on the MAN ND283F (A48) chassis, marketed as a variant of East Lancs' existing Olympus double-deck body. The engine of the bus was fitted longitudinally at the rear left-hand corner of the body, wide single tyres were fitted at the rear to reduce wheel arch intrusion into the lower deck, and a portal axle allowed for the Kinetec+ to be built with a step-free floor.[1]
The first prototype Kinetec+ body was built to a 4 metres (13 ft) low-height design to fit European Union regulations, but which has been criticised.[specify] Another prototype built to Transport for London specification, with a roof height of 4.3 metres (14 ft), had been planned, however this never materialised.[citation needed]
Operators
Stagecoach West Scotland took delivery of ten Kinetec single-decks on MAN 18.240 chassis in 2006.[1] While new into service, some of these buses suffered from windows falling out of their frames.[2]
See also
- East Lancs OmniTown, an East Lancs body also built with a chassis manufacturer's front fascia
References
- ^ a b "Euro Bus Expo '06: New show, new vehicles". Bus & Coach Professional. 24 October 2006. Archived from the original on 6 November 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ Brown, Stewart (29 August 2007). "East Lancs rescue: winners and losers". Bus & Coach Professional. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
The company has also had problems with new Esteem-bodied MANs for Stagecoach in Scotland, on which windows were falling out.
External links
Media related to East Lancs Kinetec at Wikimedia Commons
