The Leyland Swift was a

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 ...

chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1987 and 1990 as a successor to the

Leyland Cub The Leyland Cub CU series was a midibus manufactured by Leyland between 1979 and 1987. There was a previous Leyland Cub, the K series built at Leyland's Ham factory between 1931 and 1939. The Cub was derived from the Terrier truck chassis, a ...

. It shared many components with the Roadrunner

light truck Light truck or light-duty truck is a US classification for vehicles with a gross vehicle weight up to and a payload capacity up to 4,000 pounds (1,815 kg). Similar goods vehicle classes in the European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zeala ...

but with the engine relocated to behind the front axle which was itself set back to permit a passenger entrance in the front overhang. Mechanically a 6-cylinder Cummins B turbo-diesel powerplant was standard with the choice of synchromesh or

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 gearboxes. It was available in a choice of short wheelbase (3.6 m) or long wheelbase (4.4 m). The first entered service in November 1987. A number of coachbuilders produced bodies on the Swift with

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 ...

enjoying healthy sales with a very tidy adaptation of its Vanguard II body. The Reeve Burgess Harrier was also popular, while

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright i ...

of Northern Ireland produced two distinct designs and Elme 2001 of Portugal supplied a number to Orion

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 ...

specification and also to Welfare CareCoach specification with a centrally mounted underfloor wheelchair lift. Welfare and Bus versions were also constructed by

Potteries Motor Traction First Potteries is a bus company based in Stoke-on-Trent operating services in North Staffordshire, England. It is a part of First Midlands and a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History The company began life as Potteries Motor Traction. As part ...

to the Knype outline, mainly for their own use, although a demonstrator was built. Several Swifts were built as mobile libraries. Sales declined markedly once production of the lower-floor

Dennis Dart The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles of Guildford, England in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, In 1996 the low-floor seco ...

was in full swing. The Elme Orion and Vanguard II proved particularly popular with operators on the Channel Island of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

and Elme on Guernsey owing to its close fit to the maximum vehicle size regulations, seating up to 43 and allowing the replacement of elderly

Bedford SB The Bedford SB was a front-engined bus chassis manufactured by Bedford in England. It was launched at the 1950 Commercial Motor Show as the replacement for the Bedford OB. It was the first Bedford vehicle to have a "forward control" design, wit ...

coaches. Otherwise, the Swift was only a moderate success in an uncertain UK marketplace and was disadvantaged by the relatively high floor necessary to clear the mid-mounted powertrain.Leyland Swift
Bus Lists on the Web After

Leyland Bus Leyland Bus was a British bus and train manufacturer. It emerged from the Rover Group (formerly ''British Leyland'') as a management buyout of the bus business. It was subsequently acquired by Volvo Buses in 1988 and the Leyland name disappe ...

was purchased by

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

, the Swift was phased out and in some respects replaced by the

rear-engined In automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is behind the rear axle. This is not to be confused with the center of gravity of the whole vehicle, as an ...

Volvo B6 The Volvo B6 was a engined midibus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1991 and 1999. It was also available as the low-entry Volvo B6LE. History In the United Kingdom, the B6 competed in the midibus market with the Dennis Dart, and with th ...

References

External links

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Flickr gallery
{{Leyland buses, state=collapsed

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

Midibuses Vehicles introduced in 1987 Bus chassis