-By Ironhand Sydney Chukwuemeka
A new luxury bus/coach model, Campione Invictus 1200, built on Mercedes-Benz chassis by Comil to operate successfully in Nigeria’s challenging motoring environment will be launched soon in Lagos by Utobras Nigeria Ltd, an international firm of transport investments experts with offices in both Brazil and Nigeria.
In partnership with the authorised Mercedes-Benz distributor in Nigeria, Weststar Associates Ltd, Utobras will be unveiling in December the Comil bus built on the latest version of the reinforced popular Mercedes-Benz O 500 RSD 2436/30 chassis.
Giving this hint in Lagos recently during his visit to prepare for the launch of Invictus 1200, Utobras Managing Director, Mr. Frank Utomi, said the vehicle was engineered and the interior configured in a manner the average long-distance luxury bus transporter would find suitable for his business.
The vehicle, he assured, would be very competitively priced despite the rich standard features and the superiority of Mercedes drive-train and chassis.
“I am a Nigerian, and I am very familiar with luxury bus transportation here. But, I live in Brazil, and I am very familiar with the luxury bus industry in that country. That was why it was convenient for us and Mercedes-Benz to ensure that the bus we will be launching in December will be at home on Nigerian roads, in addition to being operator-friendly in terms of running cost and ease of maintenance,” Utomi said.
Though the bus powered by the robust Mercedes-Benz OM 457 LA – Euro 3 engine would be coming with standard air-conditioning system, three-screen video player for on-board entertainment and 59 comfortable seats, the seats can be altered to suit individual operator’s needs.
According to him, one of the features integrated into the bus with the Nigerian road network in mind, is the sturdy frame with short front overhang, because a longer overhang poses a problem when a luxury bus has to maneuver through deep pot-holes.
Also standard and intended to help the transporters in managing the operation of the bus is a weekly tachograph, a tachometer providing a record of engine speed over a period of one week, as well as a speed limiter to enable the driver stay within the Federal Road Safety Corps-permitted speed in order to reduce the likelihood of an accident.
Utomi, who is a well known heavy-duty truck and bus spare parts provider to road transporters, disclosed that apart from comparatively more affordable price, one of Invictus 1200’s strongest selling points is its generous cargo space. This is an indication that Comil had taken into cognizance the fact that road passengers in Nigeria, a good number of whom are traders, travel with many pieces of heavy luggage and bulky goods.
Some Invictus 1200 vital specs include drum brakes on front and rear axles; automatic break adjustment; adjustable steering bracket; two units of 12-volt/170 AH maintenance-free batteries; oil cooler for gearbox with retarder; clutch wear indicator; buzzer for fire incident alert; 20 litre extra plastic fuel tank; cruise control; and an additional alternator for the air-conditioner.
The Utobras-Weststar collaboration, Utomi assured, would also translate into an efficient after-sales service back-up for all Comil buses with ceaseless availability of replacement parts in the network.
“Our goal for introducing Campione Invictus 1200 is to help facilitate the return of many luxury buses to the medium and long-distance routes which they ruled over the decades, but which, unfortunately, are now dominated by mini buses.”