German quality in the MAN SL200 bus

Во второй половине 60-х немецкий производитель of buses MAN разработал концепцию новой конструкции. В следующем десятилетии, основываясь на ней, предприятие начало выпуск новых моделей. Интересно, что кроме западных немцев, плодами их трудов воспользовалось и предприятие из Венгерской Народной Республики. Да, всем нам хорошо известный «Икарус» в некоторых версиях своей техники также применил наработки более опытных коллег.


But let's return to the German manufacturer. Passenger vehicles, assembled at a plant located in Germany, have always been valued by users for their reliability. Moreover, this applied not only to the body structure, but also to the power units.


In both cases, the main reason was the fact that MAN's core business has always been trucks. cars various purposes. It is clear that high-quality chassis were prepared for them and reliable engines were assembled. All this later migrated to the buses of the brand.

Much in common with another German bus

When preparing the new product, the company’s specialists kept pace with their fellow countrymen from Mercedes Benz. Specifically, with the O305 model. This is clearly visible in some details of the external design, and in the strong structural similarity of the engines installed on both German buses. And the formation of the internal passenger space is very similar in terms of capacity and technical solutions.



During the entire production period, several versions of the chassis also appeared, on the basis of which bus models from other manufacturers were manufactured. The SL200 itself had a rectangular body with a rounded top.


For that time, its design looked quite modern. Another pleasant element for passengers is the comfortable wide double-leaf entrance doors. Let's take a closer look at other characteristics of the bus:

✅ seats - 45
✅ number of doors – 2
✅ weight - 16 tons
✅ length - 11 m

By the mid-70s, the bus had become a common sight on the streets of many European cities. Their municipal carriers preferred the SL200, also due to the successful design of its power unit. Here are its main indicators:

✅ naturally aspirated diesel D2566MUH
✅ engine location - rear
✅ working volume - 11,4 l
✅ power – 200 (for modified ones – 305) l. With
✅ Gearbox – 3-speed automatic (sometimes manual)

The basic version was produced by the plant until 1986. During this time, about 5500 samples of equipment were collected. Over time, the round taillights were replaced with a more modern configuration. The same fate befell the outdated star-shaped wheels. Throughout the production period, various variants appeared, including an articulated version of the bus.

Modifications of MAN SL200

In addition to some special versions, the company produced a bus model intended for the Oceania market. Right-hand drive vehicles have been successfully exported to Australia and New Zealand for many years. The SL200 also conquered the American market. Moreover, a branch for its assembly appeared in Cleveland.

It was at these facilities that the articulated version of the MAN SG240 was created. This happened in 1980. Thus was born a bus with a 280-horsepower engine and the ability to transport up to 160 passengers at a time. However, at the same time, its maximum speed was limited to 60 km/h.


Если к началу 90-х MAN SL200 в Европе начали вытеснять более новые модели, то на постсоветском пространстве его ожидало «второе дыхание». Подержанная техника оказалась намного эффективнее имеющегося в стране автобусного парка. Тем более, что в кризисное время он почти перестал пополняться новыми моделями, а потребность в transport оставалась довольно высокой.

Having completed their exploitation in Europe, the “Germans” came to court in many post-Soviet cities. Moreover, in some of them they stayed for many decades. So, for example, in Krasnoyarsk the last SL200 was taken out of service only in 2016.