Neoplan Cityliner
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The City Liner is a Coach brand Neoplan , which now since the 1970s only by the company Gottlob Auwärter and MAN is produced. Common stylistic features of all Cityliner generations are the horizontally divided windscreen, the upper part of which is inclined backwards, and the inclined pillars of the side windows.
1970s
Neoplan presented the Cityliner at the 20th International Bus Week in 1971 in Monaco . Due to the curved side windows and the high-lying passenger compartment, the view for the passengers was better than with conventional models at the time. This design coined the term " high-decker ", which spread throughout the entire industry . Due to the height of the vehicle, a trunk capacity of over ten cubic meters was made possible on the one hand and service installations such as toilet and kitchen were installed under the floor on the other hand, which brought the advantage of two additional passenger seats.
In 1973 the Cityliner became even higher (3.55 m), the side windows were now glued in and the upper windshield was only one piece. A varied model with three axles was offered, which also had air conditioning and double glazing.
Initially, a distinction was made between the Cityliner for city tours (with sliding roofs ) and the Intercityliner for longer trips. Since the Deutsche Bundesbahn claimed the Intercity brand for itself, from 1974 Neoplan only used the name Cityliner .
1980s
In 1981 the overall Neoplan range and with it the Cityliner were further developed. Examples are the change in the front, new wheel arches, a rounded lower edge of the vehicle and a closed, rollover-resistant rear of the vehicle. For the company's 50th anniversary in 1985, the Cityliner program also received the new and further developments of the fourth generation of vehicles. A new air conditioning system with a rear compact system with electronic, automatic control and energy-absorbing PUR front and rear bumpers were used. For the first time in bus construction, polyellipsoid headlights were installed.
1986 saw the start of production of the Cityliner for the US market at the Neoplan plant in Lamar (USA) in a 13.7 meter long three-axle variant.
1990s
In 1990, the Cityliner range was expanded to include a “Cityliner high” variant, which rose 16 cm and expanded the trunk to 15.6 cubic meters.
The three thousandth Cityliner was produced at the beginning of 1992. Further model upgrade measures were carried out in 1993/1994: a completely redesigned dashboard and a further developed air conditioning system in conjunction with an optimized vehicle front and rear. The previous double headlight unit gave way to triple units. For the first time, vehicles with a length of over 12 meters were created, such as the N118 / 3 (H) with 15 meters.
To mark the 60th anniversary of Neoplan in 1995, a Cityliner special edition was launched; this “ platinum edition” can be recognized by the high proportion of stainless steel look and the driver's door. The 60 vehicles of this edition were provided with high-quality standard equipment. The platinum equipment included z. B. Laser distance control to the front, seat belts at all seats, GPS navigation system, hands-free system for mobile phones and a video system.
In 1996 the Cityliner construction program was expanded to include a 13.7 meter long variant (N116 / 3HL). There were thus eight variants in this construction program.
In 1998/1999 the Cityliner was built under license in Mexico , South Africa and later also in China .
today
At the IAA 2000, a study of the “Cityliner 2000” in the stripless design of the new touring coach models was presented.
As part of the introduction of the exhaust - legislative Euro 3 in 2001 to streamline carried the model program. The program was continued with three new vehicle variants (Cityliner 12 m - N1116; Cityliner high 12 m, three-axle - N1116 / 3; Cityliner high 13.7 m, three-axle - N1116 / 3HL). The model range received the model update of the fifth generation N1116 including all safety-relevant further developments. The front received the distinctive triple round headlight units. The rear was shaped by the distinctive trapezoidal rear window.
In 2003 Neoplan also introduced its Comfort series in the Cityliner series. The Cityliner HC - "High Comfort" - with a length of 12.84 meters filled an existing market niche of the weight-uncritical three-axle vehicles, while increasing the number of passenger seats without compromising comfort.
In 2006, Neoplan launched a 2006 edition for the 35th anniversary of the Cityliner. The vehicles with a special paint job were quickly sold out, which shows the popularity of this coach. Last but not least, over 6500 units have been built to date. With this edition, however, the Cityliner base developed by Gottlob Auwärter says goodbye.
In July 2006, NEOMAN presented the new Cityliner generation. In terms of chassis technology, it is based on that of the Starliner II. Just like this, the new Cityliner was given diamond-cut side windows that no longer have the curved shape that was typical up to now.
swell
- Neoplan Aktuell, edition 57/2006, pages 12/13
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Neoplan Cityliner (omnibus archive)