The Renault PR 180-2, originally from the Transport Urbain de Reims (TUR), is seen here in a familiar place in front of the city's cathedral.
Early on a Sunday morning in April, the city of Reims seems almost deserted. It is an ideal time to take a 37-year-old Renault city bus around the city centre, take photos of the sights and listen to the enthusiastic story of driver Cyril Regnier.
The steering wheel is still identical to the very first PR 100, only the Berliet logo has disappeared.
Cyril beams with pride as he talks about 'his' bus.
In the early 1960s, Berliet lost out to SAVIEM, both commercially and technically, with the PCM city bus developed to the standards of the Régie autonome des transports parisiens (RATP). The big winner was the SAVIEM SC10, which became the most widely used city bus in France in the late 1960s. This bus had both a driver and a conductor.
Undeterred, Berliet began developing a new type of driver-only city bus. The first two prototypes were built in 1970, followed by four demonstration vehicles. The official presentation took place in May 1971 at the 20th Monaco Bus Week.
When manoeuvring, the driver must be aware of the vehicle's large turning circle.
The bus had a self-supporting construction. There were entrance doors for the front axle and exit doors for the rear axle. The engine was located in the rear overhang under the floor. The design was very square. Notably, the windscreen tilted back at an 11-degree angle from a height of 90 centimetres above the road. This was Berliet's response to the desire for better visibility from the driver's seat. There were also two almost triangular side windows to make it easier to 'dock' at bus stops.
For cost reasons, the rear window was identical to the windscreen, but mounted in reverse. To the left of the front was the Berliet name and logo.
In the meantime, Berliet had replaced the original Perkins diesel with its own engine. They also added a version with doors behind the rear axle. With a length of 11.36 metres, the PR 100 could carry up to 100 passengers.
At the beginning of 1980, the Berliet badge disappeared from the PR 100 following the integration of Berliet and SAVIEM into Renault Véhicules Industriels. On the front, the familiar Renault logo appeared in the middle and on the rear, the Renault name appeared in full on the left.
In the same year, a second variant was added to the range, the Renault PR 180, an articulated bus with a length of 17.63 metres. Both rear axles were driven, with the torque of the Renault (ex-Berliet) diesel engine shared equally between the two.
At the end of 1984, the Renault PR 100 received a facelift, which was also applied to the PR 180 a few months later. The result was the PR 100-2 and PR 180-2. At the same time, the entire range left the factory with a new, more powerful engine.
What remains special in the interior is the location of the pivot point.
The facelift included a new front bumper, which was slightly higher and less angular, and lower windows on all doors. In addition, the frame above the windscreen with the bus line and destination sign was given a more rounded shape.
Both the PR 180 and the PR 180-2 were the standard articulated buses in France. In total, Renault built 497 units of the PR 180 and 1,169 units of the second version.
The last evolution of this bus range followed in 1993 with the PR 112 and PR 118. Renault collaborated with the coachbuilder Safra in Albi. The redesigned front received the curved windscreen of the Renault R312. The modified engine was fitted with a cooled turbocharger, which further increased power output.
Renault also introduced right-hand-drive versions of the PR 100 and PR 180, which were sold in Australia, for example. Renault also supplied the ER 100H and PER 180 trolleybuses for a while. Finally, the Megabus project developed with Heuliez should also be mentioned. A double-articulated bus with a total length of 24.38 metres and space for 200 passengers.
Early in the morning, we meet Cyril Regnier at Grand Reims Mobilités. He proudly starts talking about the Renault PR 180-2 that the Association de Sauvegarde de Transport à Reims (Astur) has been using since 2017. The bus was put into service on route 701 in 1989 and has covered 770,000 kilometres. It is currently the only bus in the collection that is used on a regular basis, for example to inaugurate new bus lines.
Cyril: "Astur is made up of a small group of enthusiastic people aged between 22 and 40. There are seven of us who restore the Renault and keep the bus running."
Cyril has been interested in buses since childhood and knows all the details of numerous models. He works in the public transport workshop in Reims, where he spent six years learning the mechanic's trade in-house.
"I now have the knowledge to do the work on the PR 180-2. For example, we took a close look at the spring and brake systems. Both work on air. On the engine, we mainly replaced a lot of air and oil hoses. Of course, the engine was overhauled and the axles and hubs were checked. We also wanted to replace the air tanks, but it turned out that the new ones did not have the right connections. We tested the old ones and they turned out to be fine."
Several Renault logos can be seen on the exterior, as well as the large Renault logo on the bonnet.
Cyril also talks about the many windows that were removed as a precaution during the restoration: "We wanted to check the sheet metal because water often gathers under the window seals and causes rust. We got the upholstery from a scrapped bus. This red fabric with yellow numbers represents all the sports played in Reims. It was used on many buses from 2004 onwards."
He is also proud of the pied de poule structure of the roof interior, the underground tarpaulin on the floor and the carpeted walls. These were later simplified.
The Renaults have been used in and around Reims. Between 1989 and 1993, 37 of the PR 180s were put into service. There were also five PR 118s. There were also around sixty Renaults R312, which continued in service as the Renault Agora. In short, the history of public transport in Reims is inextricably linked to Renault buses. ‹›
Astur's attention has been focused on the engine, which is placed diagonally at the rear of the bus.
En détail…
Renault PR 180-2
Engine:
Type MIPS 06.20.45, 6 cylinders, turbo-diesel, direct injection, bore x stroke 120 x 145 mm, capacity 9.84 litres. Power 240 hp (DIN) at 2,100 rpm, torque 892 Nm (DIN) at 1,100 rpm.
Gearbox:
Type ZF 4 HP 500. Automatic with 4 forward and 1 reverse gear: 1st - 2.80, 2nd - 1.84, 3rd - 1.36, 4th - 1.00. Optional: 5 speeds.
Suspension:
Front: two coil springs with pneumatic dampers. Centre and rear: two longitudinal semi-elliptic leaf springs supported by four air springs.
Brakes/wheels/tyres:
Pneumatic. Three independent circuits. Tyres: 11 R 22.5 XZA.K 146.
Performance:
Top speed 63 - 90 km/h depending on final drive and gearbox.
Dimensions/weights:
Length 17.625 metres, width 2.500 metres, height 2.885 metres, wheelbase 5.600/6.270 metres. Track width front 2.067 metres, rear 1.868 metres. Turning circle: 24 metres (between walls). Kerb weight: 14,120 kg. Fuel tank capacity 2x 180 litres.