There were 3 of the new Plaxton Panther 2 bodies there.  2 on the Plaxton stand, a B9R 2 axle for Alpine Coaches in Wales and a B13R triaxle for Megabus, the other vehicle was on the Volvo stand.

The 9500 didn't feature as the first RHD models are still in production according to the member of Volvo staff I spoke to but he said the first examples should be arriving in the UK over the coming months.

As I said the i6 will not be a contender as an integralfor this proposed BE order.  The sales girl form Irizar told us that the Irish market would not be entered for the next 3-5 years with integral products and they are alos keen to minimise fleet orders initially as this is their first venture at integrals and they want to get it right.  They will initially push i4, Century and PB still as the front runners for fleet buyers until they perfect production of the i6 integral with smaller orders.

She also said that they had a choice of VDL engine or MAN units when designing the integral and went for the VDL based on a number of factors (she didn't say what they were tho!!!).  They may offer a choice in the future but for now it's just VDL.