Dennis Rapier

The Dennis Rapier was a purpose-built fire engine produced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles of Guildford, Surrey, from 1991 to the early 2000s. After a prototype toured British brigades it went into production in October 1991, at first keeping design elements of the RS and SS series it replaced. A 1993 facelift by Capoco Design gave a streamlined cab that tilts to 42 degrees and won a British Design Award in 1994. Standard power was a Cummins C260-21 turbocharged six-cylinder engine with an Allison five-speed automatic and a governed top speed of 75 miles per hour. Humberside Fire Brigade was the major customer, others served in Merseyside, West Sussex, Kent, Shropshire and Nottinghamshire, and examples went to Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong and New Zealand. It proved costly with limited equipment capacity, and the Sabre succeeded it.