The ACE Cougar was a type of

midibus A midibus is a classification of single-decker minibuses which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between and long. While used in many parts of the world, the mi ...

built by Alternative Chassis Engineering (ACE) in England in the early 1990s. It did not prove successful and only two were built.

Details

The ACE Cougar was designed to use

Leyland National The Leyland National is an integrally-constructed United Kingdom, British high-floor, step-floor single-decker bus manufactured in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industri ...

components wherever this was possible. The chassis was powered by a 6-cylinder rear in-line mounted

Perkins Perkins is a surname derived from the Anglo-Saxon corruption of the kin of Pierre (from Pierre kin to Pierrekin to Perkins), introduced into England by the Norman Conquest. It is found throughout mid- and southern England. Another derivation com ...

Phaser turbo engine coupled to an

Allison Allison may refer to: People * Allison (given name) * Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer Companies * Allison Engine Company, American aircraft engine ...

automatic transmission and air suspension.Provincial Society - Survivors
Both models built were 10.5m long and 2.3m wide.

Production and operations

The Cougar was built in ACE's factory in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

being launched in October 1990. The first Cougar was bodied by

Wadham Stringer Wadham Stringer was an English ambulance and bus manufacturer. History Wadham Stringer was formed when Wadham merged with Stringer Motors in 1968. It was a distributor for Morris cars and British Leyland commercial vehicles. It also was an Aus ...

and sold to People's Provincial in 1990.ACE
Lists on the Web Provincial director James Freeman saw the vehicle as a possible replacement for the company's large fleet of

s, but in the event only one was delivered. It was the only full-size bus bought new by Provincial as an independent company following privatisation in 1987. Provincial was taken over by

First Hampshire & Dorset First Hampshire & Dorset is a bus operator providing services in the counties of Hampshire and Dorset. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History First Hampshire & Dorset was created out of various different smaller companies which were merged o ...

in 1995, the Cougar remaining in service until 2004. It has been preserved. The second carried Willowbrook Warrior bodywork (a body rarely applied to new vehicles). It was completed in 1991 and was initially painted in a demonstrator livery, but was sold to

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

independent Caves Bus Services later in the year. Caves closed down in June 1999 and the Cougar was sold to a private owner on

Valentia Island Valentia Island () is one of Ireland's most westerly points. It lies off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial Bridge at Portmagee. A car ferry also departs from ...

Intended developments

Both Cougars built were technically described as ACE Cougar V models. This was to differentiate them from the Cougar VI, a 12m variant which Alternative Chassis Engineering intended to build for sale to

London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...

. The company also intended to create 30 manufacturing jobs producing the vehicles. However, ACE went out of business in late 1991, having produced no further vehicles of any sort.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Provincial Society: restoring the first ACE Cougar
Buses of the United Kingdom Midibuses Step-entrance buses Vehicles introduced in 1990