by Steve Banner • Motor Vehicle Imports is aiming to
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expand the Tata range with the launch of a 26-seater bus at the NEC Coach and Bus Show in October.
The Indian-built LP 609 chassis will be fitted with a body in Goa before being shipped to the UK. Construction is expected to be steel clad frame with alloy panels and will be trimmed with Indian-sourced materials.
The bus will be powered by Tata's 3,784cc four-cylinder turbocharged DI engine, which the company says meets Euro-2. Maximum power is 88hp (66kW) at 2,800 rpm with peak torque of 1881bft (255Nm) coming in at 1,800rpm.
Tata's CBS 27 five-speed direct top synchromesh gearbox with ratios specially altered for the UK will be fitted. An Allison automatic transmission will be offered as an option.
In the longer term, the LP 609 might also be available with a six-cylinder Cumminsinspired engine, from a joint venture between the two companies. "Development work is still going on, but it is likely that it will be a five-litre engine pushing out between 120 and 140hp." says John Franklin, manager of Tata's UK truck division. "That would allow Tata to enter the luxury coach business and compete directly with the likes of Caetano," he says. The Indians have offered Franklin a four-cylinder Cummins engine as a stop-gap until the six comes along. But there was some doubt as to whether this would meet Euro2, and we've got Euro-3 coming along," he says.
Sourcing the body in India will allow Tata to keep prices ultra-low, says Franklin. He expects to put the LP 609 on the market for around £30,000.
Tata's LPT 709 7.0-tonne truck is still scheduled to go on sale later this year, and its 407 3.5-tonner dropside looks set for launch in late June/early July.
The 407 will now use the same 3.8-litre engine used in the 609 and 709, but in a less powerful, naturally aspirated guise. It will be the largest engine fitted to a 3.5-tonner sold in the UK.
Franklin says there will be a weight penalty but claims it is only small: "We'll still be able to achieve a 1.5 tonne payload." Originally the 407 was going to use a 2.9-litre version of the 497 engine, but Tata's engineers doubted that it would meet European emission regulations. "The longer-stroke 3.8-litre would seem to have better combustion characteristics," says Franklin.
Motor Vehicle Imports has signed up 25 dealers to handle the 407 and 709, says Franklin, including at least one Hino dealer and a Foden distributor. Coach sales will be handled by specialist bus and coach distributors.
MVI already has more than 70 Tata dealers handling the Loadbeta one-tonne pick-up and half-tonne van, which it launched in Britain last autumn.
Most are Lada dealers MVI is the UK Lada distributor—and four or five will sell the 407 and 709.