The Ikarus 256 is a

high-floor High-floor describes the interior flooring of commuter vehicles primarily used in public transport such as trains, light rail cars and other rail transport, rail vehicles, along with buses and trolleybuses. Interior floor height is generally mea ...

bus used as a coach for long-distance service and for interurban traffic. It was made from 1977–1989, alongside the larger Ikarus 250, by the Hungarian bus manufacturer Ikarus.

Technical description

Designed as a high-floor two-axle bus, the Ikarus 256 has a semi-self supporting body, with the engine installed under the floor at the back, following the configuration pioneered in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Setra Setra is a German bus brand of Daimler Buses, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG. The name "Setra" comes from "selbsttragend" (self-supporting). This refers to the integral nature of the construction of the vehicles back in ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. The body platform incorporates two airsprung

beam axle A beam axle, rigid axle, or solid axle is a suspension (vehicle), dependent suspension design in which a set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft. Beam axles were once commonly used at the rear wheels of a vehicle, but hist ...

s, with the rear axle being a planetary axle. The axles have two hydraulic

shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulics, hydraulic device designed to absorb and Damping ratio, damp shock (mechanics), shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typic ...

s each. Twin tyres are fitted on the rear axle and single tyres on the front axle. Their size is 10–20″. The steering system is a hydraulically assisted ball-and-nut steering system. In total, the bus has three different braking systems: A pneumatic dual-circuit braking system, an exhaust braking system and a spring-loaded parking brake. An MAN D 2156 engine, built under licence by Rába, powers the bus. It is a straight six-cylinder, naturally aspirated, liquid-cooled,

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

with direct injection, displacing . The rated power (DIN 70020) is , the rated torque (DIN 70020) . The torque is transmitted to a fully synchronised five-speed gearbox via a single-disc dry-clutch; a six-plus-one-speed gearbox was also available as a factory option. With the default five-speed gearbox, the bus can reach a top speed of 106 km/h. It seats up to 45 passengers.

Bibliography

*Werner Oswald: ''Kraftfahrzeuge der DDR''. 2nd edition. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 2000, , p. 313

External links

* * {{Ikarus Buses Ikarus buses Coaches (bus) Step-entrance buses Vehicles introduced in 1977