Ikarus 256

The Ikarus 256 is a high-floor bus that was used as a coach for long-distance service and for interurban traffic. It was built by the Hungarian bus manufacturer Ikarus from 1977 to 1989, alongside the larger Ikarus 250. The design is a two-axle body with a semi-self-supporting structure and the engine installed under the floor at the back, a layout that Setra had pioneered in West Germany in the 1950s and 1960s. Both axles are airsprung beam axles, the rear one a planetary axle, with twin tyres at the rear and single tyres at the front, and the bus carries three separate braking systems: a pneumatic dual-circuit brake, an exhaust brake and a spring-loaded parking brake. Power comes from a MAN D 2156 engine built under licence by Rába, a naturally aspirated, liquid-cooled, direct-injection straight-six diesel of 10.35 litres rated at 141 kW, which drives a fully synchronised five-speed gearbox through a single-disc dry clutch. With that gearbox the bus reaches a top speed of 106 km/h, and it seats up to 45 passengers.