The Plaxton Paragon and Plaxton Panther are closely related designs of

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

bodywork built by

Plaxton Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough. Founded in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton, it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. In 2019, the maker was acquired by Canadian bus manufac ...

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 ...

, England, since 1999,Millar, Alan (2007) ''Bus & Coach Recognition'' : Ian Allan Ltd., and still in production as of 2013. For part of their design life, Plaxton was part of

TransBus International Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, E ...

, during which time the designs were officially referred to as the TransBus Paragon and TransBus Panther. The Paragon and Panther replaced the Premiere and Excalibur respectively, with the Paragon being the standard and the Panther the premium specification coach. Externally, the main distinguishing feature between the two models is the front end, which is more upright on the Paragon, although the difference is not as pronounced as that between the Premiere and Excalibur. One important new feature of the designs was the use of a stainless steel structure, to resist corrosion and prolong vehicle life expectancy. The Generation 2 Panther was launched at Euro Bus Expo at Birmingham in November 2010. It shares some of the external design with the

Plaxton Elite The Plaxton Elite is a coach body unveiled at the Euro Bus Expo at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham in November 2008 by the British bus and coach manufacturer Plaxton. It is primarily targeted at the premium touring market. It went in ...

and will comply with the new European WVTA requirements as well as the older domestic Certificate of initial fitness (COIF) standards. New 12.8m version will be available on

Volvo B9R The Volvo B9R is a rear-engined coach chassis built by Volvo. It can be built with bodies up to long and a maximum gross weight of . The B9R is equipped with a rear-mounted Volvo 9.0-litre 6-cylinder diesel engine under the floor, producing and ...

with 53 seats. The Generation 2 15m Panther will be built on the

Volvo B13R Volvo B13R is a 12.8-litre engined coach chassis available as both two- and tri-axle from Volvo since 2009. It was the first of the Volvo BXXR series, replacing the higher output configurations of the B12B. It was later joined by the B11R, which ...

T for Megabus with 65 seats and the latest PLS lift. Production of the Paragon ceased afterwards. The Panther Cub is a short

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

version launched in 2012. The Generation 3 Panther launched in September 2013 and is a more substantial facelift with a similar rear to the Elite and new headlights similar to the Elite Interdeck.

Body numbering

From the 1989 build season up until the 2010 build season, Plaxton's body numbering system used a letter to identify the body style. The following letters are used for the Paragon and Panther: *L Panther *T Paragon Since the 2011 build season, in which the body numbering format was changed to match that of parent company

Alexander Dennis Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, ...

, the Panther is now assigned the identifier letter P.

Gallery

Plaxton Panther

File:Eddie Brown A3EBT (8693813088).jpg, Eddie Brown Plaxton Panther bodied

Volvo B12B The Volvo B12B was a rear-engined coach and intercity bus chassis built by Volvo. It is built as a direct replacement of Volvo B12 in the European market and the Volvo B10B. The B12B could be fitted with Volvo DH12C (later DH12D and DH12E) 6- ...

in April 2013 File:Wiltax Y335 AUT rear.JPG, Wiltax Plaxton Panther bodied

Volvo B10M The Volvo B10M was a mid-engined city bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2003. It succeeded the B58 and was equipped with the same 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo diesel engine mounted under the floor behind the ...

rear in June 2007 File:Lakeside of Ellesmere BX11VOF (8716897225).jpg, Lakeside of Ellesmere Plaxton Panther 2 bodied

in May 2013 File:Plaxton Panther - Volvo B9R in Kraków (3).jpg,

Leger Holidays Leger Holidays is a coach tour operator based in Rotherham, England in the United Kingdom. It is part of the Leger Shearings Group, alongside Shearings, Battlefield Tours and Holts Tours. The company operates tours and holidays by coach, air ...

Plaxton Panther 2 bodied

rear in May 2013 File:Plaxton Panther - Volvo B9R in Kraków (2).jpg, Leger Holidays Plaxton Panther 2 bodied Volvo B9R in August 2011. File:Taunton Station Road - Plaxton demonstrator YX16NWM.JPG, Plaxton Panther 3 demonstrator

Plaxton Paragon

File:Shearings (National Holidays) 581 YJ03VOM (9123873295).jpg, National Holidays Plaxton Paragon bodied

Volvo B12M The Volvo B12M is an underfloor mid-engined bus/ coach chassis introduced by Volvo Buses in 2002 as a replacement for the Volvo B10M. It is available with a variety of bodies such as the Van Hool T9 Alizee, Sunsundegui Sideral and Plaxton Panther ...

in June 2013 File:Wightrollers.jpg, Wiltax Plaxton Panther bodied

in June 2007

References

External links

{{Alexander Dennis

Paragon Paragon may refer to: Places *Paragon, Indiana, a town in the United States * Paragon, Nebraska, former community in the United States *The Paragon, Bath, a Georgian street in the Walcot area of Bath * The Paragon, Blackheath, London, built by Mi ...

Vehicles introduced in 1999 Coaches (bus) Single-deck buses