Leyland panther cub

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Leyland Motors
Panther Cub of the Manchester Corporation

Panther Cub of the Manchester Corporation

Panther cub
Manufacturer Leyland Motors
design type Midibus
Production period 1964-1968
engine Leyland O400H 6.5 liter diesel engine
power 125 hp
length 10 m
width 2.5 m
Seats 38-47 seats
Empty weight 6500-7500 kg

The from Leyland Panther derived Midibus Leyland Cub Panther was a rear-engine single-bus, the Leyland Motors produced from 1964 to 1968 only for the domestic market. The Leyland engineers thought it was underpowered and the project was never carried out in earnest. Only 94 copies were built. The background to the development was the fact that the Manchester Corporation was approached by Leyland as a potential launch customer for the Leyland Panther. The Manchester Corporation only wanted to buy the Panther if there was a shorter version of the model in at least 20 copies for outskirts, otherwise Manchester wanted to use the competition. Thus the Leyland Cub Panther was created with a shorter wheelbase than the Panther with a similar steel ladder frame but over 2ft shorter, with a wheelbase of 16ft 6in instead of the Panther standard 18ft 6in, optionally also 17ft 6in. Due to the UK's construction and use regulations regarding the maximum rear overhang , the Leyland O.600H engine of the Panther could not be installed. Instead, an engine from the Leyland Tiger Cub was used. Manchester already had 15 Tiger Cubs with Park Royal construction. All other technical equipment in turn came from the Leyland Panther.

The Leyland Panther Cub was first presented at the 1964 Commercial Motor Show. However, sales were sluggish. In addition to Manchester, which accepted the twenty copies as promised, the model was also sold to the transport companies of Sunderland, Eastbourne Company, BET Group, Thomas Brothers, South Wales , Stockton and Middlesbrough Company, Ashton-under-Lyne, Brighton, Oldham, Warrington and Wigan each sold in single copies or a maximum of 7 copies. East Yorkshire Motor Services was one of the larger customers with 16 copies, with Portsmouth Transport Company being the largest with 26 copies in 1967. After Manchester had only purchased 30 Panther copies by 1968, production of the Panther Cub was ended in 1968.

In the UK, the Panther Cub had a bad reputation for having a weak engine and poor chassis and suspension coordination. In the former British colonies, however, they were welcomed as used vehicles. 12 of the 20 Manchester buses landed in Australia and continued to be used there for up to a decade. One of the Manchester Company buses has survived and is part of the Manchester Transport Museum but is privately owned.

swell

  • Jack, The Leyland Bus Mark 2, Glossop 1982
  • Booth (ed), Classic Bus No. 7, Edinburgh, September 1993
  • Booth (ed), Classic Bus No. 26, Edinburgh, November 1996
  • Booth (ed), Classic Bus No. 31, Edinburgh, September 1997
  • Townsin (ed), Busse Illustrated, Shepperton no 116, September 1964
  • Parke (ed), Busse Illustrated, Shepperton (nos122-4, 9, 131, 154), 1965-1968
  • Curtis, Bristol RE, Shepperton 1987
  • Lamb (ed) Bus & Coach Preservation, Portsmouth, Volume 5 Number October 5, 2002
  • http://www.buslistsontheweb.co.uk/

Web links

Commons : Leyland Panther Cub  - collection of images, videos and audio files