Plaxton Supreme
Encyclopedia
The Plaxton Supreme was a design of coach
bodywork
built by Plaxton
. It was first built, on small chassis only, in 1974, replacing the Panorama. On full-sized chassis, it replaced the Panorama Elite
in 1975, and was superseded by the Paramount
in 1982/3. However, the Supreme continued to be built on the small Bedford VAS chassis until 1986.
The most important change from the models it replaced was the introduction of all-steel construction, replacing the composite wood and steel framework of the Elite and Panorama.
Its design features clearly echoed those of the Elite III
but with subtly evolved shape and trim. The windscreen shape was altered to have a more heavily arched top, with vertical ridges above it where the Elite had had horizontal ridges. The grille surround was integrated with the front bumper, and the panel between the headlights was usually omitted resulting in a larger grille. Side trim generally included two chrome strips along the sides, the lower one having either one or two curved kinks in it. The rear end is less rounded than the Elite's.
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
bodywork
Coachwork
Coachwork is the body of a horse-drawn coach or carriage, a motor vehicle , a railroad car or railway carriage. Usually reserved for bodies built on a separate chassis, rather than being of unitary or monocoque construction...
built by Plaxton
Plaxton
Plaxton is a builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough, England.-History:The Plaxton of today is the successor to a business founded in Scarborough in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton.-Beginnings:...
. It was first built, on small chassis only, in 1974, replacing the Panorama. On full-sized chassis, it replaced the Panorama Elite
Plaxton Panorama Elite
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...
in 1975, and was superseded by the Paramount
Plaxton Paramount
The Plaxton Paramount was a design of coach bodywork built by Plaxton. It first appeared at the 1982 British Motor Show and was built until 1991....
in 1982/3. However, the Supreme continued to be built on the small Bedford VAS chassis until 1986.
The most important change from the models it replaced was the introduction of all-steel construction, replacing the composite wood and steel framework of the Elite and Panorama.
Chassis
Supreme bodywork was fitted to a wide range of chassis, including:- Leyland LeopardLeyland LeopardThe Leyland Leopard was a mid-engined single-deck bus and coach chassis built by Leyland between 1959 and 1982. It was popular with bus and coach operators throughout the British Isles...
, TigerLeyland TigerThe Leyland Tiger, also known as the B43, was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis which was built between 1981 and 1993. This name had previously been used for a front-engined bus built between 1920s and 1950s. It replaced the Leyland Leopard, which had been in production for over 20 years... - Bedford Y-Series, VAS, SB
- Volvo B655 (Rebodied), B755 (Rebodied), B58Volvo B58The Volvo B58 is a mid-engined bus chassis built by Volvo of Sweden from 1966 until early 1982. It was the forerunner to the highly successful B10M....
, B10MVolvo B10MThe Volvo B10M is a popular mid-engined bus and coach chassis built by Volvo between 1978 and 2001. It was built as the successor of the B58 and was equipped with a 9.6-litre horizontally-mounted Volvo THD100/THD101/THD102/THD103/THD104/DH10A diesel engine mounted under the floor, near the middle... - DAF MB200DAF MB200The DAF MB200 was a mid-underfloor-engined coach/bus chassis produced by DAF in Eindhoven, the Netherlands during the 1970s and 1980s. It was fitted with a DAF 11.6 litre diesel engine and ZF transmission, in either manual or automatic styles....
, SB2005 - Ford R-SeriesFord R-SeriesThe Ford R-Series is a range of bus and coach chassis evolved from designs made by Ford's Thames commercial vehicle subsidiary until the mid-1960s. A number of components were shared with the D-series lorry, including the engine which was mounted vertically at the front of the vehicle, ahead of the...
- AEC RelianceAEC RelianceThe AEC Reliance was a single-deck bus or coach chassis with a mid-underfloor-mounted engine, built by AEC in Southall, west London, England between 1953 and 1979. The name had previously been used between 1928 and 1931 for another single-deck bus chassis....
- Bristol LH
- Seddon Pennine VII
- Mercedes-Benz O303
- Magirus-Deutz
- Ward Dalesman
Supreme I, II and III
These were all badged as "Supreme" only, with no numerals to distinguish the different variants. As a result, the definitions are not clear. Plaxton's centenary website states that the Supreme I was built on the Bedford VAS chassis, and the Supreme II on the Bristol LHS. However the spare parts manuals state that the Supreme II was built with composite wooden/steel frames on full-size chassis, such as the Leyland Leopard, Bedford YLQ/YMT, Ford R1014/R1114, AEC and Volvo B58. The Supreme III was built with entirely steel framing. Wooden and steel framed examples were built in parallel during the 1976 and 1977 seasons, the difference being undetectable from the outside, but determined by the body number suffix AM (All Metal) or the letter M in the middle of the body number.Its design features clearly echoed those of the Elite III
Plaxton Panorama Elite
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...
but with subtly evolved shape and trim. The windscreen shape was altered to have a more heavily arched top, with vertical ridges above it where the Elite had had horizontal ridges. The grille surround was integrated with the front bumper, and the panel between the headlights was usually omitted resulting in a larger grille. Side trim generally included two chrome strips along the sides, the lower one having either one or two curved kinks in it. The rear end is less rounded than the Elite's.
Supreme IV
The design received a facelift in 1978, with the first examples of the new Supreme IV entering service towards the end of that year. The windscreen shape was altered again, this time to have a flatter top, and the ridged area above it was done away with. The grille and headlight area underwent a complete revision, with twin rectangular headlights flanking a grille of three chunky slats (although some vehicles had an optional rectangular chrome grille). The kink in the side trim was replaced by a parallelogram-shaped link between straight sections, and the window in the door was deeper.Supreme V
A completely new rear end, superficially similar to that later used on the Paramount, was designed for the Supreme V. It had a flat rear window and large rectangular light clusters. The front and sides were unchanged from the Supreme IV.Supreme VI
The Supreme VI, built alongside the Supreme V, had the same front and rear ends as the latter but with shallow, flat side windows. It was aimed at overnight express services.Supreme Express
All of the larger Supremes were available to "express" or "grant" specification with wide doorway and two-piece doors. These variants were badged Supreme Express, Supreme IV Express, Supreme V Express and Supreme VI Express. (This was in contrast to the Elite series, where the numeral was placed after the word Express.)Viewmaster and Viewmaster IV
The Viewmaster was a taller version of the Supreme III or IV, with the height increased by approximately 10 inches. This did initially cause some problems as the initial models were too top heavy and were liable to fall over, so modifications was needed to the original design to lower the centre of gravity. The designers claimed that the original design would not fall over, but the engineers argued otherwise and were eventually proven right. The windscreen on the Viewmaster was a taller version of that used on the Supreme III, and was retained unaltered for the Viewmaster IV. Both were also available to "express" specification, as the Viewmaster Express and Viewmaster IV Express respectively.Mini Supreme
This van-derived minicoach version of the Supreme was built on Bedford CF and Mercedes L608D chassis.Competitors
- Duple DominantDuple DominantThe Duple Dominant was a design of coach bodywork built by Duple between 1972 and 1982. It had an all-steel structure.-Chassis:Duple Dominant bodywork was built on different chassis types including:*Albion Viking EVK55CL*AEC Reliance...
I, II, III, IV - Duple Goldliner, Super Goldliner
- Willowbrook 003
- Van Hool 300, Aragon, Alizee
- Jonckheere Bermuda
- Caetano Estoril II, AlphaCaetano AlphaThe Caetano Alpha was a design of coach bodywork built by Salvador Caetano of Portugal between 1975 and 1983...