Irisbus Iliade: the coach of 1999–2006

The Irisbus Iliade was a grand touring coach produced from 1999 to 2006, the opening years of Irisbus. It sat at the top of the range, above the city and intercity buses that the new company had inherited from Renault and Iveco.

Irisbus Iliade at a glance

The sources describe the Iliade only in the model list of the company article, so this page is short and gives its place in the range rather than technical details.

History of the Irisbus Iliade

The first Irisbus range

Irisbus was formed in 1999 from the bus and coach divisions of Renault Véhicules Industriels and of Iveco, and the new company inherited factories on both sides of the merger: the former Renault Bus works at Annonay in France, where urban buses had been built since the Isobloc coaches of the 1930s, and the former Karosa works at Vysoké Mýto in the Czech Republic, used for intercity coaches. Alongside the inherited models, among them the CityClass and the Agora, the range included touring coaches, and the Iliade was one of them.

A coach for six years

The Iliade was produced from 1999 until 2006. After it left the catalogue the touring class was covered by newer coaches, and in 2013 the whole business was renamed Iveco Bus when the Irisbus brand, by then wholly owned by Iveco through CNH Industrial, was retired.

Design and features

• Grand touring coach: the top class of the early Irisbus range.
• Early years: on the market from 1999, the year the company was created.
• French and Czech production: the two coach plants of the new company.

Irisbus Iliade versions

• Iliade (1999–2006): the touring coach as listed in the Irisbus range.

The Iliade was followed by the Irisbus Evadys and then the Magelys; the city buses of the same years included the Irisbus CityClass. More buses are in the Irisbus collection.

Video: Irisbus Iliade RTX od Eurobus

Video on YouTube.

Sources

• Iveco Bus, Italian Wikipedia: model list and years
• Iveco Bus, French Wikipedia: plant history, company organisation