Iveco DownTown

The Iveco DownTown, also called the Iveco 291 DownTown, was an urban minibus built from 1998 to 2000. It came from a partnership between Iveco and the Carrozzeria Autodromo of Modena and replaced the earlier Pollicino, whose name it informally kept because of the close resemblance. Unlike its predecessor, which used a truck derived chassis such as the Iveco Daily or Fiat Ducato, it was built on a purpose designed chassis, the 291. At the time it introduced the idea of an ecological minibus for historic city centres, as its name, English for city centre, suggests. Besides the normal diesel it was offered with a 23.5 kilowatt Vickers 9919 electric motor. It was made only in an urban version, about 6.9 metres long, with two plug type doors, a low floor and a ramp with a place for disabled passengers. Its niche nature made it a commercial failure: only ATC Bologna and ATM Alessandria bought a fair number, and no examples are in service today. It was succeeded by the CAM Ale.