View allAll Photos Tagged Excel
As previously mentioned all the Optare Excels within First are now with Manchester at Wigan depot, not bad considering the Manchester fleet never took them new!
The ones aquired from Timeline Travel were soon joined by the former Leicester examples and four from London that PMT had been operating. This one is from the latter fleet and is seen heading into Leigh from Wigan on the 658 service.
A shot of this bus in its PMT days can be found here.
Andy's Seeley 500 special was a pleasant surprise at the show, especially as it was showing off some Titan products !
A DLR train arrives at Prince Regent Station in for Becton GB Railfreight with a class 66 locomotive (66 765) standing below on the recently laid Crossrail tracks. To the left is the Excel Centre which will be served by the new Custom House Station on the Elizabeth Line which is due to open in 2018.
What a great find ! Andy rescued his 500 from a shed where it had sat for years, and then found his beautiful alloy 6 gallon Seeley tank and matching seat unit on a popular auction site....
TPE 68031 is, as yet, un-named but it is understood that it will carry the name "Excelsior".
Here it passes through Malton on another Scarborough-York shuttle, routed through on the up main rather than through the single, bi-directional platform which sits on the down main.
Malton 7 Feb 2019
A mix of overcast and a hazy sunshine.
20190207_123622440_iOS
whilst on the 576 Royal Shrewsbury Hospital(where i took this on 18/2/99) to Oswestry i was in charge of ex Williamsons Optare Exel now 1109, i alway enjoyed driving this and also the Excel of Boultons, the only problem you encountered was the long front over hang which could catch you out on bends and pavements.
A very beaten up and knocked about Excel. I wonder what happened to it for it to be in such a state?
See more car pics on my facebook page!
- - -
The Type 89 Lotus Excel, built from 1982 to 1992, is a front-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car designed and built by Lotus. It was based on the design of the earlier Lotus Eclat, which itself was based on the earlier Lotus Elite II.
Toyota engaged Lotus to assist with engineering work on the Supra. During this period, Toyota became a major shareholder in Lotus, later giving up their holding when General Motors bought Lotus.
Part of the deal between Lotus and Toyota included the use of many Toyota mechanical components in Lotus' cars. The original Excel (aka the Éclat Excel) used the W58 manual transmission, driveshafts, rear differential, 14x7 in alloy wheels, and door handles from the Supra Mk II, which was made from 1982 to 1986. The engine was the familiar all-aluminium, DOHC 2.2 L Lotus 912 Slant Four (which was used in the Lotus Esprit S3). During its lifetime, the Excel received two major upgrades with the introduction of the Excel SE (a 180 bhp/134 kW engine vs the standard 160 bhp/119 kW engined car) in 1985 and the Excel SA with automatic gearbox in 1986. Further facelifts in 1989 saw Citroen-derived mirrors, as featured on the Esprit, and 15 inch OZ alloy wheels to a similar pattern as the Esprit's.
According to Lotus records, only 1 Excel was manufactured to USA specification. The lack of release in the USA was due to the high emission regulations (which would hinder the car's performance), and poor sales of the car in Europe.
(Wikipedia)