The British provider of group and team bus trips, Sharpes of Nottingham, has decided on drivetrain solutions from the North American manufacturer of commercial and military vehicle transmissions, Allison, for future coach orders. The family-run company based in the heart of England benefits from positive experiences from using an Allison T525R transmission in a Van-Hool TX21 Altano luxury bus for corporate trips.
Fleet with a wide range of applications
Sharpes’ travel and corporate bus fleet, which according to the website offers trips beyond England to Europe, consists of 60 vehicles. The coaches are from Van Hool, whose luxurious features include comfortable leather seats and catering and working equipment. According to Allison, the entire fleet ranges from 39-seater coaches to double-deckers with up to 83 seats. On its own website, Sharpes presents variants of travel, city tour, and classic English vintage buses, preferably as
double-deckers.
Customers of the popular, fully equipped Altano team bus include, for example, the Mansfield Town Football Club, a football team of the EFL League Two. Sharpes of Nottingham serves its local partners and customers in the East Midlands, the United Kingdom, and Europe from its location in Langar, which is 13 miles southeast of Nottingham.
Latest acquisition: VDL Van Hool T17 Astron
As further reported by Allison in its press release, the family business has been working with Van-Hool buses since acquiring three Van Hools 21 years ago. Sharpes' latest order, a VDL Van Hool T17 Astron luxury coach, is the first from the new VDL-Van-Hool organization after Van Hool was taken over by VDL in June 2024.
Neil Sharpe, Managing Director at the bus company, believes the Van Hool luxury coaches are considered particularly costly by some, but "in our opinion,
they are the best you can get." The first bus with Allison transmission in the fleet, the TX21 Altano, was purchased with full awareness, despite being accustomed to the standard automated manual transmission (AMT). "But we found that the fully automatic transmission is a 'game changer' - at least that's what the drivers themselves said."
Smooth handling
"The Allison transmission responds incredibly quickly, is quiet and smooth, almost as if you are driving an electric bus. When we talked to other bus operators about our experiences, they agreed with us, and there were also positive comments about the reliability the bus demonstrates every day."
Therefore, the decision to equip a new T17 Astron with an Allison transmission was easy. "In a normal year, we buy up to two new coaches, and we plan to stick with Allison transmissions from now on," Sharpe announces;
"You get what you pay for. The Allison adds class and sophistication to a quality product."
Additionally, Sharpe says, collaboration with the British team from Allison is excellent. "We recently visited the Allison Customer Experience Center and the plant in Hungary and were impressed by how the transmissions are built, tested, and examined."
Interior
The VDL Van Hool T17 Astron luxury coach is equipped with a DAF Euro 6 NG MX 13 engine, available in two power levels: 355 kW/2,500 Nm and 390 kW/2,600 Nm. The T525R transmission from the Allison Torqmatic series is designed for simple and efficient operation. It features six forward gears and one reverse gear and is equipped with a sixth-generation electronic control that offers enhanced performance, as well as better diagnostic and prognostic capabilities. An optionally available integrated output retarder allows for smooth stops and reduces brake wear.
