Plaxton Panorama Elite
| Plaxton Panorama Elite | |
|---|---|
Panorama Elite II bodywork on an AEC Reliance chassis.
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Plaxton |
| Production | 1968 - 1975 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Doors | 1 door |
| Floor type | Step entrance |
| Chassis | |
The Plaxton Panorama Elite was a successful design of coach bodywork built between 1968-1975 by Plaxton of Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. A wide-doorway variant called the Plaxton Elite Express was also built. Collectively, they are commonly referred to as the Plaxton Elite.
It was preceded by the Plaxton Panorama I, and replaced by the Plaxton Supreme. Around 6,000 Elites were built.
The Elite was built on a number of different chassis, including:
The Panorama Elite has continuously bowed sides, front and rear ends. It has large, bowed, round-cornered side windows mounted in rubber (the Panorama series had flat side windows mounted in metal frames with square corners) and double-curvature windscreens which are the same at front and rear of the coach. There is a shallow ridged area above the front windscreen.
Extensive use is made of brightwork. Up to four beaded chrome strips run along the side of the vehicle, as well as ribbed skirt panels. The front grille and headlights are contained within a distinctive chrome surround which merges with the side brightwork.
A destination box was sometimes fitted. Usually this was just below the windscreen, above the level of the headlights; on some models, mainly front-engined Bedfords and Fords, the destination box was mounted between the headlights. In either position, difficulties were found with some chassis having a high-set front-mounted radiator (in particular those manufactured by Bristol), where the position was needed for the radiator grille, so on these the destination box was above the windscreen, and this was known as the Bristol Dome.
The original Panorama Elite design, despite its all-new shape, retained the design of grille/headlight surround used on its predecessor, the Panorama I.
The offside emergency exit door was positioned directly behind the driver's cab, and a corresponding short window bay on the nearside, immediately behind the doorway, was of slightly reduced height.
The twin central brightwork strips run together along the side, separating close to the rear end and enclosing the badge. Twin round rear lights are arranged vertically at each side of the boot. An illuminated fleetname display is normally fitted above the boot.
The Panorama Elite II introduced a new grille/headlight surround, slightly squarer and more closely integrated with the trim. The small window, which had been of reduced height on the original design, was made to be of standard height on the Mark II.
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