Optare Sigma

Last updated

Optare Sigma
Atbus OL19.JPG
Atbus Optare Sigma bodied Dennis Lance in 2009
Overview
Manufacturer Optare
Production1994 - 1996
Assembly Cross Gates
Body and chassis
Doors1-2
Floor type Step entrance
Chassis Dennis Lance
Related Optare Spectra
Chronology
Successor Optare Excel

The Optare Sigma was a step-entrance single-deck bus body manufactured by Optare between 1994 and 1996 on the Dennis Lance chassis. The body was constructed from Alusuisse aluminium alloy with fiberglass front and rear panels. [1] [2] It was the single-deck version of the Optare Spectra. [3]

The Sigma was not a low-floor bus although its floor height of 40cm is considered low for a step-entrance design. The first built had two doors, the remainder only one. [2] It was also similar in design to the Optare Delta. [4] The Vecta had the same body styling as the Sigma but was designed for medium-length chassis, the Sigma was for full length chassis. [5] [6]

Only 54 were produced, primarily being purchased by Brighton & Hove (20), Trent Barton (17) and Gateshead & District (14). [6] [2] [7]

Unlike the Spectra, it did not last long enough to be developed into a true low-floor bus and was replaced by the Optare Excel in 1995. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low-floor bus</span> Bus with no steps between the ground and the interior

A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between the ground and the floor of the bus at one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of the passenger cabin. A bus with a partial low floor may also be referred to as a low-entry bus or seldom a flat-floor bus in some locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Dart</span> British rear-engined single-decker midibus

The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis of Guildford, England in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, in 1996 the low-floor second generation Dennis Dart SLF was launched. In 2001, production of the Dart SLF passed to TransBus International, during which time it was sold as the TransBus Dart SLF; Alexander Dennis took over production in 2004, renaming the product as the Alexander Dennis Dart SLF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro Cammell Weymann</span> Former British bus manufacturer

Metro Cammell Weymann Ltd. (MCW) was a British bus manufacturer and bus body builder based at Washwood Heath in Birmingham, England. MCW was established in 1932 by Metro-Cammell's bus bodybuilding division and Weymann Motor Bodies to produce bus bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Switch Mobility</span> British bus manufacturer

Switch Mobility is a British bus manufacturer based in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Indian company Ashok Leyland. The company is responsible for the EV operations of the group with Ashok Leyland focusing on its core business of diesel-powered vehicles as well as work on alternative fuels like compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VDL DB250</span> Twin-axle double-decker bus chassis

The VDL DB250 was a twin-axle double-decker bus chassis manufactured by VDL Bus & Coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optare Spectra</span> Double-decker bus bodywork on DAF DB250 chassis

The Optare Spectra was a double-decker bus body built on both the step entrance DAF DB250 and low-floor DB250LF chassis between 1991 and 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optare Excel</span> Low-floor integral single-deck bus

The Optare Excel was a low-floor full-size single-decker bus manufactured by Optare. Manufactured as an integral bus, the Excel was launched in 1995 as one of the first low floor single-deck vehicles, replacing the step-entrance Optare Sigma. The styling of the body was in keeping with existing Optare products. At the front, a simple flat panel with the Optare name was set between two pairs of twin headlamps, below a very large front windscreen. Approximately 600 were built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Lancashire Coachbuilders</span> Bus bodywork manufacturer based in Blackburn, England

East Lancashire Coachbuilders Limited was a manufacturer of bus bodies and carriages founded in 1934 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England. The company went into administration for a short while in August 2007, before being bought by Darwen Group and performed a reverse takeover with Optare when its parent purchased the company in 2008 and its site and business was later closed in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayats Bravo</span> Motor vehicle

The Ayats Bravo is a range of coaches manufactured by Ayats. There are four variants, the Bravo 1, Bravo 2, Bravo 3, and Bravo City, all featuring similar styling cues. They are custom manufactured in Spain to order, on a wide variety of chassis or as integral products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DAF SB220</span> Full-size single-decker bus chassis produced by DAF Bus International

The DAF SB220 was a full-size single-decker bus chassis produced by DAF Bus International from 1985. Initially only built in left hand drive, in 1988 a right hand drive version was launched for the United Kingdom market. An articulated version was also manufactured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Lancs Kinetec</span> Type of low-floor bus body for MAN chassis

The East Lancs Kinetec is a type of low-floor bus body for single- and double-decker MAN Truck & Bus chassis. Both variants were launched at Euro Bus Expo 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optare Delta</span> Step-entrance bus body on DAF SB220 chassis

The Optare Delta was a single-decker bus body manufactured by Optare on the DAF SB220 chassis. They were built in a factory in Leeds, England. They are known for their distinctive sloping front window. A common feature about the bus that it has a distinctive one-piece windscreen with a sloped windowline and a separately mounted destination display.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optare Prisma</span> Single-deck bus body on Mercedes-Benz O405 chassis

The Optare Prisma was a single-decker bus body that was fitted to the Mercedes-Benz O405 chassis, produced between 1995 to 1998, when it was discontinued in favour of the integral Optare Excel low-floor bus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optare Vecta</span> Single decker bus bodywork

The Optare Vecta was a step-entrance single-deck bus body manufactured by Optare between 1991 and 1997 on the MAN 11.180 and 11.190 chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Domino</span> Motor vehicle

The Dennis Domino was a step-entrance midibus chassis manufactured by Dennis in Guildford, England in 1984 and 1985. It was in essence, a scaled down single-decker version of the Dennis Dominator. Developed for intensive urban work, the Domino was fitted with Perkins T6.354.4 turbocharged engine, Maxwell automatic transmission, front radiator, full air suspension and power steering. It can be regarded as a predecessor of the successful Dennis Dart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Counties Palatine</span> Step-entrance double-decker bus body

The Northern Counties Palatine was a step-entrance 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties from 1988 to 1999 in Wigan, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optare Esteem</span> Low-floor single-decker bus body

The Optare Esteem was a low-floor single-decker bus body manufactured by East Lancashire Coachbuilders, Darwen East Lancs and Optare between 2006 and 2009 on Scania N94UB, Scania N230UB, Volvo B7RLE, MAN 12.240, Alexander Dennis Dart SLF, Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart and Alexander Dennis Enviro300 chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single-deck bus</span> Bus with a single deck for passengers

A single-decker bus or single-decker is a bus that has a single deck for passengers. Normally the use of the term single-decker refers to a standard two-axled rigid bus, in direct contrast to the use of the term double-decker bus, which is essentially a bus with two passenger decks and a staircase. These types of single-deckers may feature one or more doors, and varying internal combustion engine positions. The majority of single-deckers have a length of up to 12 metres, although some exceptions of longer buses exist. They also typically weigh between 11 and 14 tons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaxton Pointer</span> Single-deck midibus body built on Dennis and Volvo chassis

The Plaxton Pointer is a single-deck midibus body that was manufactured between 1991 and 2006, predominantly on the Dennis Dart chassis, by Reeve Burgess, Plaxton and latterly Alexander Dennis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Lancs OmniDekka</span> Double-decker bus built by East Lancashire Coachbuilders / Darwen Grp / Optare

The East Lancs OmniDekka is a double-decker bus built for sale in the UK market, introduced by East Lancashire Coachbuilders in 2003. Originally built on Scania N94UD chassis at Euro 3, and later Scania N230UD and N270UD at Euro 4 and Euro 5, the bodywork consists of a modified East Lancs Myllennium double decker, but with the standard front end cowl and windscreen replaced with that of Scania's own integral OmniCity. Through takeovers of East Lancs, production of the OmniDekka was latterly carried out by the Darwen Group and finally Optare before ceasing in 2011.

References

  1. Merc underframed Prisma Commercial Motor 30 March 1995
  2. 1 2 3 Daughters of Delta Buses issue 690 September 2012 page 40
  3. Companion to Road Passenger Transport History. Walsall: Roads & Road Transport History Association. 2013. p. 360. ISBN   9780955287633.
  4. "DAF - Life after United". Buses (March 1994 issue). United Kingdom: Ian Allan Publishing. February 1994. p. 9.
  5. 1 2 The Model Page Bus & Coach Preservation ISSN   1462-1886 February 2018 page 64
  6. 1 2 Jenkison, Keith (2020). The History of Optare. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. ISBN   978-1445696942.
  7. Optare Sigma Bus Lists on the Web

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Optare Sigma at Wikimedia Commons