Neoplan in Paris

[H3Jim]

On vacation, saw this yesterday.  pretty nice bus

[BusCrazyTom]

Nice bus, but the curves would make for conversion pain, I think.

BC Tom

[FloridaCliff]

Jim,

Ya just gotta love those lines.

Looks fast sitting still!

May be just the angle, but the front looks pretty far out in front of the tires.

Talk about exciting turns.

Stay safe and keep your eye out for some more.

Cliff

[WEC4104]

Ya gotta love a bus nut.  He's in Paris and he's taking photos of buses 

[Jeremy]

Nice bus, but the curves would make for conversion pain, I think.

BC Tom

More to the point are the lost passenger seats - I think it is excellent that at least one manufacturer is offering a bus where 'style' is at least as important 'function'. The Starliner isn't a common bus, but there are still plenty of operators have at least one in their fleet - kind of the same philosophy as British Airways I guess - lots of Boeings & Airbuses to do the grunt work, and a handful of Concordes to get the glamour

Jeremy

PS. Maybe a top-line Starliner conversion parked outside a Prevost owner's meeting would give them something new to talk about?

[chazwood]

Ya gotta love a bus nut.  He's in Paris and he's taking photos of buses 

[Dreamscape]

Kinda looks like an Eagle on steroids.

[Lee Bradley]

More to the point are the lost passenger seats - I think it is excellent that at least one manufacturer is offering a bus where 'style' is at least as important 'function'. The Starliner isn't a common bus, but there are still plenty of operators have at least one in their fleet - kind of the same philosophy as British Airways I guess - lots of Boeings & Airbuses to do the grunt work, and a handful of Concordes to get the glamour

Jeremy

PS. Maybe a top-line Starliner conversion parked outside a Prevost owner's meeting would give them something new to talk about?

Do you think the Prevost owner's coud even see it?

Yes there is a lot of bus in front of the front wheels and a lot of bus behind the rear wheels; impacts the storage but makes for great turning radius. Something you really need in Europe (and the rest of the world). Sean has reported making a U-turn on a two lane road with his Neoplan. I have two 90 degree turns in my driveway and my Cityliner gets around them nicely.

A little data about the Starliner:

The three-axle Starliner L has ideal dimensions with a width of 2.55 metres, length of 13.9 metres and height of 3.9 metres.

It sets new standards for the entire coach programme of NEOPLAN Bus GmbH. For this reason in future NEOPLAN will no longer be producing any two-axle vehicles in the premium super high-decker segment. With this Starliner NEOPLAN has redefined and perfected touring.
NEOPLAN's new Starliner is powered by an in-line, six-cylinder turbodiesel MAN D 26 common rail engine installed vertically in the rear. In the standard version it has an output of 480 hp.
Innovative Common-Rail technology permits a hitherto unmatched torque of up to 2,300 Newton metres at 1,900 rpm. Independent tests by trade publications have also confirmed just how exceedingly economically the engine runs.
Power in all of the Starliners is transmitted directly from the automated manual TipMatic gearbox with twelve speeds, in which the newly developed Easy Start moving-off aid is already integrated.
The running gear with the tried-and-tested independent wheel suspension at the front and the hypoid axle mounted on multiple control arms is based on MAN's sophisticated technology. It is fitted with a standard electronic stability programme (ESP) which helps to stabilise the vehicle in critical situations by acting on the engine or brake.
NEOPLAN also offers an electronic damper system (CDS) for the Starliner as standard which ensures that the handling of the vehicle can be adapted to the specific road conditions.

[Len Silva]

Have them send one to Marathon for me.

[TomC]

I could only imagine how much the upper windshield would cost to replace!

[Gary '79 5C]

I can only imagine how hard and often the front end would bottom out going into any drive/entrance with a slight incline to it.

[Jeremy]

I could only imagine how much the upper windshield would cost to replace!

You can't see it in the photo, but that upper windscreen has the most enormous wiper arm you've ever seen to keep it clean and make sure the passengers have a good view. For the front passengers it must almost feel like you're flying

Jeremy

[Jeremy]

Another fascinating fact is that the Chinese bus builder Zonda produce a copy of the Starliner which they call the A9. Neoplan filed a patent infringement lawsuit about it in 2006.



The A9 design which Zonda originally wanted to produce had been an even closer copy:



Jeremy

[skipn]

the Zonda..........A9 series
To me what is amazing is that both the single and double axle buses have
the same turning radii. 24 meters if I read the spec correctly.


Skip

[Sean]

I can only imagine how hard and often the front end would bottom out going into any drive/entrance with a slight incline to it.

I don't have to imagine.  I live it every day.

I've re-glassed both headlight trim panels several times, I've left giant gouges in pavement from Washington to Florida from my hefty tail skids, and I even got stuck in a driveway once with my drive wheels spinning uselessly in the gutter.

But, yes, I can make a U-turn in roughly four standard lane-widths (assuming no obstructions either side to keep me from overhanging).

Note the Starliner does not give up any passenger seating -- the "missing" volume is what, on most coaches, is unused space above the driver's head and well in front of the front passenger row.  The effect is achieve merely by moving the staircases and entry area back and down.

AFAIK, there is one and only one Starliner in the US, which was the prototype for Lamar production that never happened before they folded.

BTW, the reason why two- and three-axle Neoplans often have the same turning radii is that the tags steer to quite acute angles.

Lastly, the Starliner is not the first Neoplan to have been ripped off in east Asia.  Knock-offs of Skyliners and even Spaceliners abound.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com