Big deals for Plaxton duo
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• Plaxton has already received g12m worth of orders for the two new coach bodies it unveiled last week to succeed the nineyear-old Paramount (CM 22-28 Aug).
The upright Premiere will start at g55,000 while the swept-back Excalibur will cost about £5,500 more.
Leeds-based Wallace Arnold has placed the largest single order, for 61 Premiere and Excalibur bodies on Volvo BlOM chassis. Shearings of Wigan has ordered 40; Park's of Hamilton 30, and Excelsior Holidays 18. They are all due to be delivered by December.
By the end of next year Flaxton hopes to have sold up to 350 units.
Both body styles are available in 3.5m heights and the Premiere is also offered as a 3.2m.. A 3.7m upright version will be exhibited at the Kortrijk fair in Belgium this month on a two-axle Volvo B12 rearengined chassis.
Plaxton is planning a midibus version of the new coach body based on Volvo's latest B6R. A double-decker version is not planned for at least the next 12 months; the double-deck Paramount 4000 will still be available alongside Paramount specials.
Both bodies have a weldedsteel structure with galvanised steel panels bonded above the waist rail; the lower section comprises resin transfer moulding — believed to be the first application on coaches, Plaxton says it avoids corrosion and limits damage in accidents.
The new range is fitted with tinted double glazing, an updated heating system, an option for air conditioning and improved plug doors on the upright models.
The rounded body meets ECE R66 roll-over regulations on the Volvo BlOM, Scania K92 and K112 and Dennis Javelin.
Trials at MIRA show that the new range uses at least 10% less fuel than the Paramount at 112km/h (70mph).
Wallace Arnold estimates that an extra mile per gallon would save it more than E100,000 a year on fuel. Tests also showed that the new range is 2i times stiffer than the Paramount, with only a small increase in weight.
0 Worksop-based dealer Stuart Johnson says it is negotiating with at least five companies interested in buying Plaxton's aluminium citybus body, the Verde (CM 21-27 March). It will take the first 15 Verdes next month and has already sold one to Yorkshire Traction on a Scania N113.