New NEOPLAN Starliner - a star is reborn
MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd. is proud to unveil, for the first time in the UK, its new
NEOPLAN Starliner luxury tourer. The flagship of the NEOPLAN coach range debuts
at EuroBus Expo in the colours of its first UK customer, luxury coach-hire specialist,
Ellison's Travel Service of Merseyside.
The new generation Starliner from MAN's Premium brand NEOPLAN is a fully integral
three-axle luxury touring coach – 13.99m long and a 3.97m high. Power comes via
MAN's 480bhp D26 Euro 4 ‘Add Nothing’ EGR engine with Common Rail injection engine.
A fully automatic 12 speed MAN TipMatic gearbox comes with an integral and newly-developed
‘Easy Start’ moving-off aid.
The new Starliner represents a wholesale redevelopment of its well known predecessor,
including an all-new body design, a sophisticated new active suspension, the latest
MAN driveline, new safety technology and the lowest Cd coefficient on the market.
The EuroBus Expo exhibit is already the 400th vehicle off the German production
line, a strong hint to the overall appeal and technical quality of the coach – a
quality that also earned the title ‘Coach of the Year 2006’ in Europe. Starliner's
well known predecessor model has racked up nearly 1100 units out of its Stuttgart
production facility from 1998 to 2004.
The new 14-metre coach represents the last word in luxury travel, boasting 52 Kiel
Avance 1020 leather seats and a walk-in kitchen. The Starliner is also the safest
coach on the market, complying with ECE R66 rollover deformation regulations, and
supported by a range of passive and active safety systems for driver and passengers,
including series ABS, EBS, MSC, BA and ESP as well as optional ACC and LGS.
Andy Magowan of Ellisons is understandably pleased with the company's new coach,
“We were thrilled,&rdquo he said, “we're so pleased at having the opportunity to add
this vehicle to our fleet.
“The Starliner has become a trademark for us – as it sets the standards that we
expect for our clients. I have been to see the vehicle in Germany and was extremely
impressed,” he said. The NEOPLAN Starliner is “made in Germany” completely, from
the start of 2009 in comes from the bones to the finish out of the NEOPLAN Plant
in Plauen, Saxonia.
The Starliner, in Ellison's striking blue, black and silver livery, forms an integral
part of the company's ‘Premiership Range’ of vehicles, which specialise in corporate
hospitality.
Further safety features include MAN's Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) whereby
engine and service brakes are administered automatically and independently of each
other when a potential crash scenario is encountered. Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
automatically maintains the distance to the vehicle travelling ahead using the coach's
engine management, retarder and service brakes. The innovative Electronic Damper
System Comfort Drive Suspension (CDS) enables the driver to adapt the vehicle's
suspension to specific road conditions while MAN Lane Guard System (LGS) ensures
driver alertness in the case of lane ‘wander’. New bi-Xenon ‘cornering’ headlamps
are also fitted to provide improved ‘directional’ light for the driver while cornering.
The unique interior of the latest Starliner features tinted panoramic side windows
and the largest double-height front windscreen in the world – evidence of NEOPLAN's
stylish ‘Sharp Cut’ design, where all unnecessary body material is ‘cut away’. An
exclusive ‘surface sound system’ ensures balanced acoustics through the whole vehicle
via the coach ceiling, providing occupant with a unique sound experience.
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