Ikarus (bus manufacturer)

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Icarus

logo
legal form Holding company
founding 1895
Seat Budapest
Branch Bus manufacturer
Website www.ikarus.hu

Ikarus C83.30G 2002 for the Colombian TransMilenio (2006)

Ikarus is a Hungarian manufacturer of buses and trolleybuses in Budapest -Mátyásföld and Székesfehérvár . During the 1980s it was one of the largest bus manufacturers in the world and produced mainly for the states of the Eastern Bloc and numerous socialist brother countries around the world. In cooperation with western manufacturers, vehicle types were also developed for the rest of the world market.

history

The Ikarus company was founded in 1895 and was mainly known for its coaches and city ​​buses , which played an important role in the socialist era. The 200 series buses in particular were produced in enormous numbers due to the RGW specialization, making Ikarus the largest bus manufacturer in the world with an annual production of 15,000 buses. More than 30,000 buses were delivered to the GDR alone by 1990 . At that time, Ikarus buses were also assembled from CKD kits in Cuba , Mozambique , Angola and Iran .

Ikarus trolleybus in Budapest

In the 1980s and 1990s, Ikarus also supplied the basis for trolleybuses in large numbers, which were also exported to the Soviet Union , the GDR, Bulgaria and Romania. The electrical equipment was supplied by the Budapest company Ganz (including type TK101 with 150 kilowatts) and BBC (type 4ELO 2052K with 169 kilowatts). In addition, 13 articulated 280 type buses were converted into trolleybuses in Poland in the early 1990s . They were given the series designation 280E and operated in Gdynia (nine), Lublin (four) and Słupsk (one).

Decline after the political change

After the political change in the Eastern Bloc in 1989, hard times began for Icarus, due in particular to the shrinking Russian market. Ikarus was a member of the Irisbus Group from 1999 to 2006 , but was sold again because the company was unable to operate economically, which led to the closure of factories and extensive production cessation. After bankruptcy, the last bus left the factory on December 11, 2007. What remained was a body and vehicle parts factory.

Reintroduction of the Ikarus brand

From 2010 Ikarus tried a comeback as a bus manufacturer under a new owner and with government support. In autumn 2010, the Ikarusbus company presented the planned new bus types E127, V134 (each Midibus ) and V187 (articulated bus). In 2010, together with long-term partner Rába , the new bus models in accordance with the Euro 5 emissions standard and wireless internet were presented to the city of Budapest. The Hungarian government plans to merge Icarus with Rába. Rába is majority-owned by the state, Ikarus belongs to the group of companies around the Hungarian oligarch Gábor Széles. Ikarus himself estimated in 2010 that around 100,000 Ikarus buses are in use worldwide.

The company expanded its capacity to 3000 buses in 2016, 2000 of which will be manufactured for export .

Vehicles and types

Ikarus 31 with motor above the front axle
Ikarus 66 with a large engine stern in Wilhelm-Pieck-Stadt Guben

After the Second World War , the then customary omnibuses built on ladder frames were built with engines above the front axle (Ikarus 30, 31, 60, 305, 306, 601, 602, 620 and 630 ), other series were equipped with rear-wheel drive (Ikarus 55, 66, 303, 304, 555). At the same time, buses with a self-supporting body (Tr3.5, Ikarus 31 ) were already being built. The Ikarus 55 and 66 rear-engined types built in the early 1950s were particularly noticeable on the outside due to their large rear. The first examples of these types were equipped with a clutch operated by compressed air and a gearbox with an electrically preselectable gearshift, but had stability problems, especially in the rear, which was burdened by the heavy diesel engine. These were resolved by 1960, and the buses were successfully produced into the 1970s. From 1953 to 1961 a total of 3000 Ikarus buses were imported into the GDR , and from 1961 they were exported to 30 countries.

Until the mid-1960s, larger buses were needed for city traffic. The diesel engines from Csepel previously used were too weak for such large buses. As a result of the license agreement concluded by Rába with the German MAN , more powerful engines could be used in the new 556 series and in the first articulated bus type 180 manufactured entirely by Ikarus from 1965 . These two series with underfloor motor found very successful successors with the types 260 and 280 from the 200 series, which were delivered in large numbers to the Eastern Bloc countries of the time under the Comecon Agreement.

Ikarus buses were also observed in the Hamburg area from 1973 to 1986, but here in the standard bus I version designed in accordance with the German VÖV guidelines . The Hamburg-Holstein transport company (VHH) received several series of the Ikarus 190 rear-engined bus from 1973 to 1976 (a total of 154 cars) and used them on their lines in southeast Hamburg in the Bergedorf district and in Holstein , especially in Neumünster and Norderstedt . A Rába MAN engine was also used here. Later this type was also delivered to Kuwait .

The buses of the 200 series, which were manufactured in over 200,000 units from the 1970s to the 1990s, are divided into:

  • 211 : 8.5-meter midibus with components from the Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau (IFA) from the GDR
  • 250 /255/ 256 : Coaches in different versions
  • 260 : 11 m solo bus with underfloor engine for city and intercity traffic
  • 261: Right-hand drive version of type 260
  • 263: 12-meter solo bus with an underfloor engine for city and suburban traffic
  • 266: 11-meter solo bus for urban and intercity traffic from 1979 to 1982
  • 280 : 16.5 meter articulated bus with underfloor engine for city and intercity traffic
  • 281: Right-hand drive variant of type 280
  • 283/284: articulated pusher bus with rear engine in the style of the 280
  • 293: 22.68 meter long double articulated bus that was tested in Budapest in 1988

These models had different variants, different numbers and types of doors and trolleybus versions. In addition, there were individual prototypes and models in very small numbers as well as superstructures on chassis from other manufacturers. Due to the high number of units in the transport companies, the Ikarus buses made it possible to have an almost identical vehicle fleet and rational maintenance. The underfloor motor types 556/260 in particular were known for their good acceleration. In some cases, the poor availability of original spare parts and auxiliary heating systems that were independent of the vehicle tank and whose capacity in winter was often insufficient for a full day's use were unfavorable.

Ikarus 415 from 1993 in Bielsko-Biała in Poland (2007)

In 1991 Ikarus city buses of the types 260 and 280 arrived in large numbers in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, where some of them were used with environmentally friendly gas drives.

In the 1980s, modern city buses with rear engines and lower floor heights were developed: Ikarus 415 (11.4 meter solo bus , initially referred to as 410 NE) and 435 (17.9 meter articulated bus). In the 1990s, Ikarus also introduced low-floor buses : Ikarus 412 (12-meter solo bus) , 417 (articulated bus) and 405 (midibus). In 1994 an attempt was made to gain a foothold again in Germany with such buses in Wuppertal. So from 1995 Ikarus 405 (midibus) and 417 (articulated bus) were used in Wuppertal, which at that time scored points with their special "continuous heating". Another Ikarus 417 was used by the Potsdamer Havelbus Verkehrsgesellschaft from 1996 . However, it was not possible to sell more buses in Germany. The Ikarus low-floor buses retired from service at both Havelbus and Wuppertaler Stadtwerke in 2005.

Cooperations with other manufacturers

In the 1980s, sets of Ikarus types 256, 260 and 280 and buses of types 256 and 280 were delivered to Cuba . They were assembled there by the manufacturer Giron.

  • 194 body in the VÖV standard bus I style on a Volvo -B10M floor pan
  • 196 cooperation models with Volvo or Scania parts (articulated bus)
  • 212 / MAN CR 160
  • 259.10 on a Steyr chassis 1991 in 100 pieces for Uganda
  • 259.10 on a Ford R-1011 chassis as a prototype for Nigeria
  • 259.62 on Scania chassis
  • 259.x on a Renault chassis for Africa
  • 260.22 by Steyr-Hellas for Athens (last series only 1984)
  • 271 on Iveco chassis for Libya
  • 272 prototype with MAN chassis
  • 259.80 on MB-OF1317 / 5170 chassis for the Greek army by Steyr-Hellas in Thessaloniki
  • 283.20 only chassis, body in Tunisia by STIA
  • 286 / Orion III: 18.3-meter articulated bus with a width of 2.6 meters for the North American market, which was only available from Crown Coach Corp. (USA) or Orion Bus Industries (Canada) were completed with parts from national production in order to receive grants for the purchase
  • 521: 6.5-meter midibus on VW LT 55
  • 542/545: Midibus on Mercedes-Benz 814 D
  • Icarus 657-664. 662 as a "tour bus" in different versions with parts (including chassis) from Scania or Volvo (labeled as Ikarus-Scania , Ikarus-Volvo and Scania or Volvo )
  • Ikarus 659 as Saurer : 5 SH4 F-OLI or later for Steyr as Steyr-Ikarus SIR 11 (12) H210
  • Ikarus 662.65 / MAN SR 240
  • Ikarus 663 for Steyr as Steyr-Ikarus SIR / SIL 7H 132
  • Ikarus 664 on a Scania chassis
Historical Ikarus 260 from Gera

Remain the car in Germany

The last Ikarus still used in regular service was an Ikarus 280.03 of the KVG in Zittau , which completed its last mission on August 31, 2010. The vehicles of the series 55 (touring and intercity buses) and 66 (city and regular buses) can be seen nowadays mainly at traditional meetings. Examples of the front engine types 601 and 31/311, however, have almost completely disappeared.

Of the eight Ikarus 250s that were available to the Central Committee of the SED between 1984 and 1989 primarily for hunting trips and transfer trips, the vehicle with the registration number ABI-ZK 89 is still at Vetter Touristik in Zörbig (district of Salzfurtkapelle) for special trips in action. The bus, which was made for Erich Mielke on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the GDR , is characterized by the special equipment with 16 comfortable swivel armchairs. A thermometer is integrated in the armchair reserved for Erich Honecker . The journey was reproduced on video devices using an external camera.

gallery

200 series

literature

  • Michael Dünnebier: Trucks and buses from socialist countries. transpress publishing house for transport, Berlin 1988.
  • Motor vehicles of the people's democracy in Hungary. In: Motor vehicle technology , issue 10/1951, p. 234 (description of the Ikarus 30).
  • From the international automotive industry: Hungary. In: Automobiltechnik , Issue 4/1959, pp. 152–154 and 6/1959, pp. 240/241.

Web links

Commons : Icarus buses  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sarah Günther: Memory of a Hungarian best seller - the Ikarus bus brand. Budapester Zeitung, June 9, 2019, accessed on July 17, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Jane’s Urban Transport Systems . Jane's Publishing Company Limited, London 1985, ISBN 0-7106-0810-1 , pp. 368/369 (English).
  3. ↑ a b IHO - Közút - Agorafóbia. Retrieved February 5, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Ikarus E127, V134, V187. Ikarusbus Kft., Accessed on November 29, 2010 (Hungarian, the planned new range of types from Ikarus).
  5. ↑ Hungary wants to revive the Ikarus as the “national bus ” , on pesterlloyd.net , accessed on August 2, 2016.
  6. ^ Pester Lloyd from April 16, 2010, Ikarus introduces new bus family for Budapest . Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  7. ↑ origo.hu
  8. ↑ ikarus311.de accessed on December 30, 2012.
  9. ^ Ikarus 303 - a new Hungarian bus . In: Motor vehicle technology 03/1961, p. 118.
  10. ↑ Der Verkehrspraktiker - magazine for theory and practice of motor traffic and urban local traffic. Verlag Die Wirtschaft Berlin, issue 6/1959, p. 38 ff.
  11. ↑ Icarus all over the world . In: Motor vehicle technology 07/1961, p. 305.
  12. ↑ MAN Commercial Vehicles Division (publisher): MAN CR 160 . Munich.
  13. ^ Ikarus Body and Coach Building Works (ed.): IK 259.10 . Székesfehérvár.
  14. ^ Crown Coach Corp. (Ed.): The Ikarus 286 . Los Angeles.
  15. ↑ Österreichische Saurerwerke Aktiengesellschaft (Ed.): Saurer-Type 5 SH 4 F-OLI . Vienna.
  16. ↑ Ikarus body on MAN chassis. Not to be confused with the "real" MAN SR 240.MOGÜRT, Hungarian foreign trade company for motor vehicles (publisher): Ikarus 662 - MAN SR 240 . Budapest (around 1979).
  17. ↑ Steyr (Ed.): SIR / SIL 7H 132 .
  18. ^ Website of Vetter Touristik with reference to the Ikarus bus of the Central Committee of the SED . Archived from the original on February 12, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  19. ↑ Travel like once with Erich Honecker. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. September 2, 2007.