Leyland Tiger
| Leyland Tiger | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Leyland |
| Production | 1981-92 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1 door or 2 doors |
| Floor type | Step entrance |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
Leyland TL11 Gardner 6HLXCT Cummins L10 |
| Power output |
170 - 260BHP (TL11) 220 - 290 BHP (Cummins L10) |
| Transmission | Leyland Voith ZF |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Leyland Leopard |
| Successor | Volvo B10M |
170 - 260BHP (TL11)
The Leyland Tiger, also known as the B43, was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1981 and 1992. This name had previously been used for a front-engined bus built between 1927 and 1968. It replaced the Leyland Leopard, which had been in production for over 20 years.
The Leyland Tiger was released in 1981. Initially only one engine was offered, the turbocharged Leyland TL11, which could be rated up to 260 hp. The Leopard had enjoyed huge success as a bus in Scotland, usually with the Alexander Y-type body, but had lost some Scottish Bus Group orders to Seddon's Pennine 7, owing to Leyland's unwillingness to offer a Gardner engine in the Leopard.
When Leyland launched the Tiger, it continued this same unwillingness, just as Dennis was developing the Gardner-engined Dennis Dorchester, which similarly had the potential to win Scottish Bus Group orders away from the Tiger. Faced with this possibility, Leyland offered Gardner 6HLX-series engines in the Tiger from 1984. To facilitate this, the Tiger chassis had to be modified, as the Gardner engine was significantly larger than the TL11. Although the threat from the Dorchester was successfully warded off, there proved to be a limited market for the Gardner-engined Tiger outside of Scottish Bus Group.
A North American engine, the Cummins L10, was also made an option by 1987. The Cummins engine was being specified more often from around 1988, and with this engine, the gearbox would usually be a ZF as opposed to the Leyland Hydracyclic.
Volvo took over Leyland in 1988, and from 1989 the Tiger was offered with the Volvo THD100-series engine (as fitted in the best-selling B10M). The large majority of Volvo-engined Tigers went to Northern Ireland. At around this time, the TL11 and Gardner options were dropped, leaving only the Cummins and Volvo options available.
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