The Jelcz M083C Libero was a low-entry midi city bus first shown in 2006 and produced at Jelcz-Laskowice in 2007 and 2008. After the Jelcz works went bankrupt in October 2008 the design passed to Autosan, where it continued as the Sancity.
Jelcz M083C Libero at a glance
| Maker | Jelcz, Jelcz-Laskowice |
|---|---|
| Type | low-entry midi city bus |
| Premiere | Transexpo, Kielce, 4 October 2006 |
| Production | 2007-2008 |
| Doors | two, inward opening, layout 1-2-0 |
| Chassis | universal Autosan A0808T Gemini |
| Front axle | LAF portal axle, two air springs |
| Rear axle | Meritor, four air springs |
| Body | stainless steel tubes and sheets, plastics and aluminium |
| Body styling | Wrocław Academy of Fine Arts |
| First big order | 33 buses for Mobilis, Warsaw suburbs, 2008 |
| Successor | Autosan Sancity 9LE |
This page is based on a single source, the Polish Wikipedia article on the Jelcz M083C Libero.
History of the Jelcz M083C Libero
The Libero was not an entirely new design. Its roots go back to 2000, when Autosan presented the A613MN city bus prototype at the Poznań international fair, built on a Csepel 613 chassis, and to 2002, when a lengthened prototype on Autosan’s own chassis was shown at the municipal transport exhibition in Łódź as the Autosan A0808MN Koliber. In 2002 the Polskie Autobusy company decided that city buses would be the responsibility of Jelcz. Sales of Jelcz buses had fallen and the company was in difficulty, so the start of production kept being postponed until the recovery of the city bus market in 2004-2006 allowed work to continue. The later stages used the universal chassis of the Autosan A0808T Gemini, and the body was styled by staff of the Faculty of Interior Architecture and Industrial Design at the Wrocław Academy of Fine Arts.
The chassis is a longeron-and-lattice frame joined integrally to the body, which is welded from stainless steel tubes. The outer skin is stainless steel sheet with plastic front and rear walls bonded to the frame, and the side and rear flaps are aluminium. The front LAF portal axle is carried on two air springs and two dampers with an anti-roll bar, the rear Meritor drive axle on four air springs and four dampers with an anti-roll bar. Air conditioning and passenger-area monitoring were available as options.
The finished bus had its official premiere on 4 October during the Transexpo exhibition in Kielce, and in the autumn of 2007 the Libero was shown at a motor show in Britain. At the beginning of 2008 Mobilis took 33 buses for lines on the outskirts of Warsaw, and three more went to MKS Skarżysko-Kamienna in September and October. The maker estimated demand at about 50 buses a year, and the start of Libero production did not end production of the cheaper Jelcz M081MB Vero. In October 2008, with the bankruptcy of the Jelcz works, production passed to Autosan, the owner of the rights being Polskie Autobusy; the bus appeared at Transexpo 2008 as the Autosan A0808MN Sancity, the first example under the Autosan name went to a Swedish customer, series production began at the end of 2008, the designation changed to Autosan M09LE Sancity in 2009, a facelift followed in 2010 and the model is now the Autosan Sancity 9LE.
Design and features
- Low-entry midi layout: two inward-opening doors in a 1-2-0 arrangement for lightly loaded city and suburban lines.
- Air suspension: a LAF front portal axle on two air springs and a Meritor rear axle on four.
- Stainless structure: a welded stainless steel tube body with stainless sheet, plastic and aluminium panels.
- Styled at the academy: bodywork designed by the Wrocław Academy of Fine Arts.
Jelcz M083C Libero versions
- Jelcz M083C Libero: the Jelcz-built bus of 2007-2008.
- Autosan A0808MN Sancity: the same design built by Autosan from late 2008.
- Autosan M09LE Sancity and Sancity 9LE: the later designations, with a 2010 facelift.
The Libero was the smallest city bus of the range that also included the Jelcz M121 and the Jelcz 120M. More buses are in the Jelcz collection.
Video: Jelcz M083C “Libero” w Warszawie
Video by jck1234a on YouTube.
Sources
- Jelcz M083C Libero, Polish Wikipedia: origins at Autosan, construction, premiere and production history
