Family - Setra

This photograph amazed the coach world:
six men carrying a complete coach shell.
A powerful demonstration of its low weight.
1951
10 | The fifties The fifties | 11
T
he 1950s are ripe for
revolutionary developments,
and people are
bubbling over with a spirit of
discovery and inventiveness. A
number of discoveries from this
fruitful decade travel around the
world – as does Otto
Kässbohrer’s idea. In 1951, he
introduces a bus with a self-supporting
body – the take-off point
for an unmatched success story
originating in Ulm.
A sensation at the 1951 IAA
The first post-war IAA exhibition is
held at the Frankfurt trade fair
grounds. At the very first IAA in
1897 in Berlin, only eight motorised
vehicles were presented. In 1951,
no less than 500 exhibitors travel to
Frankfurt to present their wares.
Since 1950, at the Kässbohrer firm,
the company head Otto and his
engineers had been working on the
development of a self-supporting,
frameless bus. And there it is at the
1951 IAA: an absolute sensation
and one which ultimately gives the
company its name. The first Setra
with a self-supporting (“selbsttragend”
in German) body, the Setra
S 8, revolutionises bus construction
through its many innovative technologies
and features, such as the rear
engine, engine brake, large luggage
compartments and high-quality
equipment. The latter greatly
contributes to enhanced comfort
on board. Just a few examples: an
advanced solution developed with
individual heating channels for each
row of seats, draft-free ventilation
and a defrost feature on the windscreen.
The S 8 is a technological
phenomenon and it achieves
nothing less than causing wonder
and amazement in the bus sector.
A world premiere –
a bus that supports itself
A small coach makes it big
In March 1955, the compact Setra
S 6, the third model in the 10 series,
is a real show-stopper at the
Geneva Automobile Salon. 6,700
mm long and 2,250 mm wide, it
features a whole series of spectacular
technological innovations. Its
handling, ride and comfort come
amazingly close to that of an
automobile, thanks to its chassis
with independent wheel suspension
and swing axles at the front and
rear. A rubber torsion-bar suspension
ensures excellent road-holding
characteristics, and its impressive
turning circle of 13.4 metres makes
for remarkable agility. There is
simply nothing on the market which
can be compared to the “Club Bus”,
and customers are delighted. The
S 6, 1,200 units of which come onto
the market, is the smallest Setra
ever built.
Venturing overseas
In the summer of 1954, Henry Minor
from Continental Trailways, one of
the largest bus operators in the
USA, travels to Ulm. Greatly
impressed with Setra production
and with the idea of placing an
order for a super-luxurious Setra
coach for his company, he sends
a telegram to his boss asking him
to join him in Ulm as quickly as
possible. It doesn’t take long for
Maurice Moore to be just as
impressed with these coaches
which are equipped with huge
luggage compartments, air conditioning,
outward-swinging doors,
comfortable reclining seats, lavatories,
on-board galleys, bars and
lounge corners, setting an all new
standard for American bus travel.
Under the names Golden Eagle and
Silver Eagle, vehicles which significantly
differ from their European
cousins in terms of dimensions and
equipment, are engineered and
introduced to the American market.
1955
The world is astonished:
modular coach construction
At the 1959 IAA, Setra brings along
yet another first. The Setra S 9,
S 10 and S 11 are constructed
using the newly developed modular
system. They are built using 80
percent same parts, enabling an
exceptionally efficient approach to
production. Nonetheless, at the
Kässbohrer company, great importance
is placed on individualising
and customising their vehicles.
The various models can be built
and equipped to meet the needs
of specific applications – whether
urban transit, regional service or
touring.
1959