Minibus "Luidor 225000": description and technical characteristics

Andrey Filippov, photo by the author

“Is this really the 10,000th Mercedes-Benz converted at PKF Luidor? – any journalist always sees a catch in “round” numbers, rightly suspecting that in most cases, in order to obtain a “beautiful” number, something is slightly adjusted upward. “Of course not,” laughs General Director Sergei Izmailov, “this is already the 10,183rd body. It’s just that the event was planned and agreed upon with high management in advance, but customers don’t wait, and last year we “slightly” exceeded the plan.” Here's an adjustment towards “increase” - an unexpected turn!

Although no. I'm already lying. This option is exactly what we expect when it comes to PKF Luidor. Here, as before, you won’t find any bright futuristic projects. The variety of bodies and brands of “donors” is not dazzling here. On the territory of the plant there is only monotonous and endless traffic of Mercedes and GAZelle - a van drives into one gate, a minibus leaves the other. What did you want - a conveyor belt!

Technical characteristics of GAZelle NEXT

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Technical characteristics of Gazelle Next all-metal van

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Iron wonders

Well, what about the cars themselves? Today, PKF Luidor produces a line of buses based on the Russian MB Sprinter Classic and the new MB Sprinter.

The bulk of MB Sprinter Classic are minibuses of various capacities and purposes. The fundamental difference between minibuses on this basis is the lack of space for standing passengers, regardless of body type.

In addition to minibuses, PKF is ready to produce SMP vehicles and self-service vans based on Classic. And recently, the cargo-passenger Sprinter Classic Mixto won a tender for the production of such vehicles under a general contract. Armchairs of our own making, plywood upholstery - this is the recipe for a budget and at the same time multifunctional car.

Work is also underway on cars based on the new Sprinter. In order not to burden you with routine, I will note the very last point. Intercity variants now have new shelves for hand luggage with individual lighting and ventilation units. The shelves are now narrower and lighter than their predecessors, which means more space and weight savings.

Well, to end the story, a couple of lines about recognized achievements. At the end of 2014, PKF "Luidor" was awarded a diploma from the government of the Nizhny Novgorod region and took... 1st place in the "Automotive" industry. Would you say it's nothing? I think it’s a breakthrough! After all, at the end of 2013, Luidor was only in 3rd place, behind such auto giants as the Gorky Automobile Plant (GAZ) and the Arzamas Municipal Engineering Plant (KOMMASH). And now it is a leader, and not only in the production of small class buses and special vehicles in Russia.…

Buses Luidor 225000

Minibuses have long been firmly established in our lives. They transport enterprise employees, children from small villages to settlements where there are schools, and, of course, work on regular city, suburban and intercity routes. But large factories that produce basic chassis (for example, GAZ) are not flexible, they are not able to adapt to all the needs of a particular client - mass production technology does not allow this. Then relatively small enterprises come into play - such as the Nizhny Novgorod company PKF Luidor. Luidor 225000 buses continue to gain popularity among carriers. There are more and more of these machines, and the geography of their operation is incredibly wide - this is, in fact, the entire territory of Russia.

Minibus Luidor 225000

As you know, the GAZ plant already has its own minibus in its range, built on the chassis of the well-deserved Gazelle Next. It has an index of 3221. But over the years of production, people operating these machines have had two serious complaints:

• the sliding door is suitable for a van or ambulance.” But it is inconvenient in city conditions, as it often breaks down. But opening and closing it is very difficult for passengers. Especially in a crowded cabin.
• The ceiling is too low, which creates inconvenience for those moving to their place. Even a person of average height has to bend down a lot to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling.

Luidor buses conquer Russian roads

The Luidor company was able to correct these shortcomings, while keeping the retail price low - it is not much higher than that, which means for the client a quick return on his investment.

Luidor has been building 225,000 for years - a bus, photos of whose characteristics are found in abundance on the Internet.

Description of the car

The Gazelle Business chassis is used for construction. This is the most popular car in the entire post-Soviet space. Gazelles are also found abroad - for example, in Turkey and Poland. Spare parts for Business are available everywhere, and they are inexpensive.

The roof is completely new, high. This allows even tall people to experience a minimum of problems inside, compared to the standard Gazelle. Instead of a sliding door, Luidora installs its own swing door. It has a much smaller width, which makes it easy to open and close such a “wicket” both from the inside and outside. There is no need to clap several times.

The cabin is equipped with comfortable chairs. Each of them has an anatomical shape, is equipped with a high back and headrest, as well as a three-point (on the first three seats) or two-point seat belt.

There is no external step on the outside (unlike the factory van). This is done intentionally so that the driver can drive close to the curb without fear of damaging this step. And for convenient entry, there are steps already in the salon, much lower than the general floor level.

To maintain a comfortable microclimate, a filter-ventilation unit, two sliding windows, and a separate cabin heater are provided.

The cabin is designed for maximum passenger comfort

The roof has a transparent tinted hatch, which in an emergency plays the role of an emergency exit. The second exit is located at the rear; the interior layout is specially designed so as not to impede access to it. There are yellow handrails throughout. In addition to the ceiling lighting of the interior, the designers also installed separate lamps at the steps so that a person entering or exiting could see where they were stepping and would not be injured.

Specifications

Buses have the following characteristics:

• external dimensions of the machine – 570x238x286 cm;
• internal dimensions of the passenger compartment: 310x183x188.5 cm. At the same time, the height is 38.5 cm more than that of a standard Gazelle;
• number of seats - 14 for passengers and 1 for the driver. Transporting people while standing is not allowed by the manufacturer;
• A UMZ 4216 gasoline injection engine is installed under the hood. With a displacement of 2.9 liters, it produces a maximum power of 107 hp. at 4000 rpm;
• fuel consumption – 10.5 liters per “hundred” at 60 km/h, 13 liters per 100 km – at a speed of 80 km/h.

In general, the technical characteristics of the Luidor 225000 do not differ very significantly from the base Gazelle, because the changes affected mainly the interior.

Conclusion

GAZ sells the Luidor 225000 minibus through its dealer network - this, in essence, is recognition of the quality of products from the Nizhny Novgorod “court” atelier. The car turned out to be very successful and looks great – both in person and in the photo. It is bought by both large transport companies and very small firms, as well as individual entrepreneurs and just private individuals. Fuel consumption is very moderate, in addition, many install gas equipment.

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Holiday Unit System

So, on March 2, 2015, the 10,000th bus rolled off the assembly line of the Balakhninsky production complex as part of a general contract between PKF Luidor LLC. What does such a confusing phrase mean? Only that in reality, various vehicles based on the MB Sprinter were collected at Luidora even more than Sergei Izmailov voiced in the conversation. It’s just that the employees of Mercedes-Benz RUS separately keep strict records of “contractual” cars - German pedantry, however.

However, this did not affect the status of the event in any way. The governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Valery Shantsev, and the vice-president for light-duty vehicles of Mercedes-Benz RUS CJSC, Søren Heze, came to greet the ceremonial departure of the 10,000-tonne truck.

By the way, let us remind you that in March last year, PKF Luidor celebrated the production of the 10,000th car produced at the Balakhninsky production complex. Guess which car turned out to be the anniversary car back then? That's right - a minibus based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Classic. Traditions can’t be helped...

Technical characteristics of Gazelle Business onboard

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Tales for VIP

PKF “Luidor” has another area that has not been put into production, but due to its unusualness it is much more interesting than serial products.
We are talking about one-time highly specialized orders - VIP salons, offices on wheels, various laboratories, etc. One of the striking examples of such work in front of you is the 2232E1 “Motocross” model based on the MB Sprinter Classic T1N van. The car was made by order of a team from Nizhny Novgorod and is intended for technical support of Yegor Skorobogatov’s motorcycle.

The cargo-passenger van is divided into two parts. A team of seven people can comfortably move in the passenger compartment, and the cargo compartment houses the motorcycle itself, a set of necessary spare parts and, of course, tools. The luggage compartment turned out to be an interesting solution; it is located in the upper part of the motorcycle box, above the motorcycle, but has access from the cabin, as it is intended for the team’s personal belongings. Both compact and roomy. Well done designers!