Produced: 1994 - 1999
Around 1993, a small bodybuilder called Safra, based in Albi, began refurbishing old PR100s and PR180s with a front end of their own design. The PR100 series was about due for one of its periodic facelifts and from mid-1994 Renault too began using the Safra-designed front on new buses.
CTRB,
Belfort no. P43 (7049 GG 90) - September 2001
A typical two-door PR112, this one built in 1997 for the Belfort fleet and
decorated in that fleet's unusual 'stick man' livery. CTRB bought PR100.2s up
until 1989 before switching to the R312, then returned to the PR100 range for
five PR112s delivered between 1995 and 1997.
TCRB,
Boulogne-sur-Mer no. 103 (7232 QR 62) - March 2001
Another eye-catching livery, this time the wave pattern livery of Boulogne
fleet TCRB. No. 103 in the Boulogne fleet was new in 1994 and is one of four
PR112s operating in the channel port town. Unusually, they have three doors.
This third design of front end abandoned the flat windscreen with quarterlights in favour of a double-curvature windscreen of the pattern found on
Renault's R312. The PR100.2's plastic lower front panel was, however, retained. The new front looks a bit anonymous compared with the distinctive designs found on the mark 1 and mark 2 versions of the range, but no doubt the revised windscreen gives the driver fewer blind spots and reduced reflections at night. These 'mark 3' versions are designated PR112 for the rigid bus and PR118 for the artic.
As low-floor buses became the norm for urban use during the mid-1990s, demand
for the PR100-series waned. With the introduction of an articulated version of
the Agora in 1997, Renault could now offer a complete low-floor range and there
was no longer a pressing need to keep the old faithful PR112 and PR118 in
production. Renault ceased producing the PR112 in 1999, however production of
the PR118 effectively finished some time before this.
Renault produced around 400 PR112s between 1994 and 1999, along with only about 100 PR118s.
DK'Bus Marine (STDE),
Dunkerque no. 625 (8076 XA 59) - May 2000
Dunkerque have only one PR118, and when I visited their depot it was up on
jacks receiving some routine maintenance. It was new in 1995 and joined a fleet
of PR180s and PR180.2s. The PR118 was however the only Renault artic to receive
the eye-catching coastal scene livery.
TUR, Reims no. 742 (3387 WF
51) - September 2001
Reims' lurid colour scheme is here carried by one of their five PR118s. Note
the small PR118 logo just aft of the entrance doorway - one of the few surefire
ways of distinguishing a bona fide PR118 from a PR180.2 refurbished with the new
front end.
Since 1993 Safra has rebuilt numerous old PR100s and PR180s, of both mark 1 and mark 2 versions. It can be difficult to tell the difference between a PR112 / PR118 and an old bus which has been refurbished using the new front end, however telltale signs such as side trim, door windows and rear bumpers often give the game away. Proper PR112s and PR118s often carry bodyside transfers to advertise the fact, but not always. Some buses have the Safra name embossed into the front panel below the nearside windscreen wiper, however this may appear on both refurbished buses and new PR112s and PR118s, so it's not a reliable way of telling the old from the new. Bona fide PR112s and PR118s, together with late-model PR100.2s and PR180.2s, have reversing lights on the rear either side of the engine cover, and also have marker lights mounted on the sides of the bus at roof level (front and rear). Refurbishments do not normally have these.
Occasionally, refurbishments may also embody a new rear end of Safra's own design. The new rear end is rather angular and has a much smaller rear window. This rear end was also applied to a number of PR112s delivered new to Safra's local operator, Albibus.
STAS, St. Etienne no. 663
(9107 TL 42) - September 2000
An example of a refurbished PR100.2, STAS 663 was new in 1986. For once it's
fairly obvious that this bus is a refurbishment and not a PR112, as the
characteristic angular wheelarch surrounds have been removed from this bus and
replaced by rounded ones.
TCAT, Troyes no. 204 (204 ND
10) - September 2001
Doing a very good impression of a much younger bus is Troyes 204. At first
glance, it looks
to be a PR118 new between 1994 and 1997, however it is actually a 1985-built
PR180.2 which has been refurbished by Safra. The bus was new to RATP in the
capital and joined the Troyes fleet in 1995.
CTRB, Belfort no. A56 (9567
FK 90) - September 2001
Another example of the sort of results that can be obtained when elderly
buses are refurbished by Safra, Belfort A56 was some sixteen years old when
photographed at rest at its owner's premises in 2001. Originally a PR180R
delivered in 1984, it had received a full refurbishment inside and out. The
resulting bus looks as good as new. Note that the original style of door has
been retained.
CTRB, Belfort no. A56 (9567
FK 90) - September 2001
The refurbishment of Belfort A56 also included fitment of a Safra REAR end,
a very unusual addition.