MAN Truck & Bus
Natural gas for the Olympics
When Munich hosted the Summer Olympics in 1972, this presented a challenge in terms of traffic logistics. Alongside four million visitors, there were around 7000 athletes and their mentors who were travelling in the city. Natural gas buses from MAN chauffeured the athletes to the games. This enabled Germany to present itself as a technologically advanced country. “Our natural gas drive was also a reaction to the emerging oil crisis”, remembers Dr Hans Hagen, who then led the initial development at MAN. The buses were equally distinguished by their environmental friendliness. Emissions from the natural gas engine are odourless and mainly consist of water vapour. The level of pollutants is well below the permissible limit values.
Many newspapers reported enthusiastically about this technology from MAN. The sporting event was, however, terribly marred by the terror attack on the Israeli team in which eleven hostages and a police officer were killed. The games nevertheless continued as a signal of international understanding. Natural gas expertise has continued to develop ever since. The Lion’s City G now makes MAN the European market leader in natural gas buses. Its reliable and efficient drive plays a major role in the future of clean mobility.
USING NATURAL GAS WAS ALSO AN ANSWER TO THE OIL CRISIS.
Dr. Hans Hagen
Retired MAN employee
Low emission The 1 cold tank stores the natural gas in liquid form after it has been cooled to minus 160 degrees Celsius. The gas then vaporises in the 2 heat exchanger. A 3 mixer adds intake air and it is fed to the 4 engine, where it is combusted without solid materials emissions.
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Natural gas bus in 1972 The overall passenger trafficduring the Olympic Games was organised with alternative drives.
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Refueling with natural gas At that time mobile fuel dispensers were used.
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New alternative fuels Natural gas bus tanks could be easily exchanged.
The modern natural gas bus
MAN cultivates a natural gas know-how based on 75 years of expertise in the field. The new MAN Lion’s City G marks the peak of this technological development by fulfilling the highest sustainability and economic efficiency standards. This modern vehicle is characterized by the following features:
Reduced emissions: The newly developed E18 natural gas engine not only complies with the Euro 6 emissions standard but performs significantly better than the current limits. That means you can rely on this technology to expand your public transport long into the future. MAN takes sustainability seriously.
Greater range and capacity: Thanks to its compact design, the MAN Lion’s City G creates more space for the CNG storage system. The few, but large, gas cylinders stored in the roof can carry up to 1,875 l in fuel. That gives you a minimum range of 500 km - ideal for any route.
Highest Efficiency: Through its smart downsized engine, the torque moment can be increased using little cylinder capacity. This operation saves fuel. As an alternative the vehicle can be equipped with MAN EfficientHybrid as a way of decreasing fuel consumption, pollutant and noise emission.
Economic Refinement: Aside from offering higher environmental friendliness through lower emissions, MAN's CNG city buses also present an economically attractive alternative. MAN's natural gas bus is unbeatable when it comes to operating costs. Because of the lower fuel costs, savings in Life Cycle Costs (LCC) of around 15% can be expected over a period of 10 years and a mileage of 60,000 km per year..
Easy Maintenance: A smart flap system provides direct access to the engine and the gas cylinders on the roof for maintenance. Additionally, the easy-to-clean passenger compartment with its seating rail mechanism further helps to keep maintenance costs down.
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