MAN Lion's Coach

The Lion’s Coach is MAN’s touring coach, launched at Busworld in Kortrijk in autumn 2017 and sold since across four body lengths on one engine. MAN said in February 2021 that over 2,500 had been sold in Europe since the launch, over 500 of them in Germany alone over the preceding three years. Every diesel figure below is read from MAN’s own four per-variant data sheets, cross-read against their German twins, the brochure footed 01/2023 and MAN’s Lion’s Coach technical-data page. The battery-electric 14 E has documents of its own — the Lion’s Coach E brochure footed 09/2025 and the Lion’s Coach E technical-data page — and where a claim comes from those, from a press release or from Council Directive 96/53/EC instead, the text says which.

Four bodies, one driveline

The four are the Lion’s Coach at 12,101 mm, the C (two axles) at 13,091 mm, the C (three axles) at 13,361 mm and the L at 13,901 mm. All are 2,550 mm wide and 3,870 mm high, all carry the same engine and all take the same two gearboxes.

Maximum seats run 53, 59, 57 and 61 in that order, and luggage space up to 11.7, 14.3, 11.8 and 13.2 m³ — the sheets print that row “max.” and the brochure prints “max.” against each of its four columns too, so these are ceilings for each body and not the hold a particular coach has. The two do not move together: the C (two axles) seats fewer than the L and carries the largest luggage maximum of the four, while the C (three axles), 270 mm longer, is quoted 2.5 m³ below it. That 2.5 m³ is the gap between two maxima and it is our subtraction, not a figure MAN prints.

Turning circles are 20,880 mm for the base coach, 23,400 mm for the C (two axles), 20,960 mm for the C (three axles) and 22,256 mm for the L. The two-axle C needs the most room of the four, though the L is 810 mm longer again and turns in 1,144 mm less. All four subtractions in this section are ours and MAN prints none of them.

One engine, three power steps, two gearboxes

Every sheet carries the same block: the MAN D 2676 LOH Common Rail, a 6-cylinder unit of 12,419 cm³. The power steps differ by body length. The base coach and the C (two axles) are offered at 324 kW (440 hp) with 2,250 Nm and at 353 kW (480 hp) with 2,450 Nm; the two long models start where the short ones stop, at 353 kW with 2,450 Nm and 382 kW (520 hp) with 2,650 Nm. Three outputs in all, two per body, with 353 kW the overlap. MAN’s technical-data page states the span as 440 to 520 hp and 2,250–2,650 Nm, so both ends of the programme are the maker’s own statement rather than an assembly of ours. MAN’s release of 2 September 2025 reports a 13.36-metre Lion’s Coach C handed over to TSV 1860 Munich with the D2676 LOH at 375 kW (510 hp), an output none of the four sheets lists.

Two gearboxes run across all four models, and MAN names them three ways. The technical-data page has the MAN TipMatic Coach, a 12-speed automated manually operated gearbox, and the EcoLife, a six-speed automatic. The English sheets translate the first as a “12-speed semi-automatic manual gearbox”, where the German sheets print Automatisiertes 12-Gang-Schaltgetriebe — automated, not semi-automatic, a difference set out in automated manual transmissions.

The brochure adds one restriction. In its technical spread the six-speed automatic is marked “(only at 480 hp)” on the C (three axles) and the L, with no such note on either shorter model: on the two long coaches, the torque-converter box means the middle power step.

Weights

The base coach is plated at 19,700 kg, the C (two axles) at 20,600 kg and both three-axle models at 25,530 kg. Those are manufacturer’s permissible total weights, and not the same kind of number as the ceilings in Council Directive 96/53/EC, whose consolidated text of 14 August 2019 is in force. Article 1(2) makes the Annex I weights “valid as circulation standards and thus refer to loading conditions, not production standards”, and Article 4(2)(b) lets a Member State authorise national passenger transport that does not conform to them at all. Point 2.3.1 allows a two-axle bus 19.5 tonnes and point 2.3.2 a three-axle motor vehicle 25 tonnes, or 26 tonnes on either of two tyre-and-suspension conditions it sets out in full. The comparison of MAN’s plate with those figures is ours; how the two kinds of figure differ is set out in how to read a coach data sheet.

The length limits apply to national traffic as well: Article 4(1)(b) forbids a Member State to authorise normal circulation of national passenger transport vehicles not conforming to point 1.1, which caps a bus with two axles at 13.50 m and one with more than two at 15.00 m. The C (three axles) at 13,361 mm is also within the two-axle ceiling.

Axles and brakes

The base coach and the C (two axles) run two axles; the C (three axles) and the L run three. The 01/2023 brochure names the brake block “EBS brake system, disc brakes on all wheels” across the range, with constant-speed downhill control also credited to that EBS system working through MAN BrakeMatic. No MAN data sheet, brochure or technical-data page lists a retarder as a catalogue item, but MAN’s press release of 2 September 2025 describes the TipMatic transmission of a delivered 13.36-metre Lion’s Coach C — the same vehicle its 375 kW (510 hp) D2676 LOH figure comes from — as “the automated 12-speed MAN TipMatic transmission with integrated retarder”, and MAN’s launch release of 13 July 2017 states of the same driveline family that “the new secondary retarder provides optimum braking effect in conjunction with the high axle ratios” at up to 4,000 Nm and 500 kW (rather than the 3,200 Nm and 420 kW it says came before). A retarder is therefore not absent from MAN’s own materials on this model; it is absent only from the specification documents.

Safety and driver-assistance systems

MAN’s technical-data page lists the assistance programme for the diesel Lion’s Coach as MAN OptiView, Lane Return Assist, Traffic Sign Detection, Traffic Jam Assist, Lane Change Support, Turn Assist, ESP, the EBS brake system with MAN BrakeMatic, Emergency Brake Assist, Lane Guard System, the MAN Driver Monitoring System, Adaptive Cruise Control and MAN EfficientCruise, each with its own stated function: OptiView replaces the mirror arms with digital exterior cameras, extending the field of vision and reducing the blind spot, with displays that adjust automatically to ambient brightness. Lane Return Assist warns of unintentional lane departure and steers the vehicle back into the lane. Traffic Sign Detection reads the applicable speed limit and warns the driver when speeding. Traffic Jam Assist controls drive, brake and steering independently in queuing traffic, maintaining distance and lane and braking to a standstill if required. Lane Change Support and Turn Assist each monitor a blind area beside the coach and warn in three stages through an LED band in the A-pillar, the first to the left and right, the second on the co-driver’s side when turning. ESP assists the driver against oversteering or understeering and works to prevent rollover. The EBS brake system with MAN BrakeMatic gives stability and manoeuvrability during emergency braking, prevents skidding at loss of traction and maintains a constant speed when driving downhill. Emergency Brake Assist warns the driver, can stop the vehicle automatically and warns following traffic with an emergency stopping signal. The Lane Guard System gives an adaptive lane-departure warning, and the Driver Monitoring System watches for suspicious changes in steering behaviour and interacts with the other systems. Adaptive Cruise Control maintains a set distance to the vehicle ahead, and MAN EfficientCruise is a GPS-assisted cruise control that reads the road’s topography in advance and adjusts driving style and shift strategy for fuel economy. The page’s notes state that “the availability, scope of service and specification of the respective service and vehicle model depend on the model year”. The technical-data page also names a smoke alarm in the luggage compartment as a standard passive-safety feature, for early fire detection, and front impact protection to ECE-R 29 as the one regulation it states by number.

The 01/2023 brochure, marking each item “within the limits of the system”, adds three further named systems: MAN AttentionGuard, which “helps minimise the risk of accidents by detecting the first signs of lack of concentration and overtiredness”; MAN High Beam Assist, which “adjusts the vehicle’s low beam and high beam to the brightness of day and night”; and an electric parking brake, operated by a switch to the left of the driver’s seat.

Cockpit and cabin equipment

The 01/2023 brochure describes a 12-inch digital display in the cockpit and a multifunction steering wheel adjustable for height and tilt. Assistance and comfort functions are operated through the MAN SmartSelect control, a turn-and-push element working via a 7-inch media display, which the brochure says reduces the need to take the driver’s eyes off the road while using the infotainment and navigation menus. In the cabin, the brochure describes seats with adjustable headrests, the MAN Multimedia Coach infotainment system, and a tablet holder and USB port at every seat.

Euro step

Not one of the four data sheets states an emission class, in English or in German, and neither does the 01/2023 brochure or the Lion’s Coach technical-data page. The step recorded here, Euro 6e, comes from MAN’s newsroom rather than from any specification document: MAN’s release of 6 October 2023, for Busworld Europe 2023, says “The Lion’s Coach is powered by the new MAN D26 coach engine in Euro 6e exhaust quality”. MAN’s releases of 2021 name the step without a sub-step: “a perfectly tuned Euro 6 driveline” on 16 February 2021 and “the optimised Euro 6 driveline” on 10 December 2021.

Inside the December 2021 release, the Sustainable Bus jury’s verdict is quoted on a D26 that “meets the Euro 6e standard” and makes up to 510 hp (375 kW). The same release gives, in MAN’s own body text rather than the jury’s, “a maximum overall permitted weight of up to 19.5 tonnes”, in the same run of prose that gives the “optimised Euro 6 driveline”.

The current sheets top out at 520 hp, and every one of the four models is plated above 19.5 tonnes: the base coach at 19,700 kg, the C (two axles) at 20,600 kg and both three-axle models at 25,530 kg. The steps are set out in Euro 6 and Euro 7 explained.

The battery-electric 14 E

MAN showed a battery-electric Lion’s Coach 14 E at Busworld in October 2025. Its figures are not on the diesel documents at all; they come from the Lion’s Coach E brochure footed 09/2025 and the Lion’s Coach E technical-data page. A three-axle body of 13,968 mm, 27,300 kg technically permissible, an electric central motor of 330 kW continuous through an automated 4-speed MAN TipMatic, NMC packs and CCS charging at up to 375 kW.

Usable capacity has two figures per pack count, not one, because MAN sells two depth-of-discharge strategies. The 09/2025 brochure’s battery table gives four, five and six packs 231, 289 and 347 kWh usable on the reliable-range strategy at 65 per cent depth of discharge, and 320, 400 and 480 kWh on the maximum-range strategy at 90 per cent. Only the second set reaches either technical-data table: the brochure’s own, on page 22, prints “480 kWh (6 packs), 400 kWh (5 packs), 320 kWh (4 packs)”, and the E technical-data page gives the same set as “320 kWh to 480 kWh”. It is that set the range belongs to as well — the brochure prints “Up to 650 km” against “Maximum range battery usage strategy” and foots it “under optimal conditions”.

All of it sits under MAN’s own disclaimer on the E technical-data page: “Vehicle is in prototype or development status. Information derived from related products and projections. Information may change depending on the series status.” The range carries MAN’s “[in-development]” marker there as well, and MAN’s release of 13 May 2025 puts series production in 2026 at Ankara. Two figures disagree across MAN’s own documents: charging time is about 60 minutes minimum in the 09/2025 E brochure and about 1.5 hours on the E technical-data page, and the seat count is 61 in that brochure, 63 in the October 2025 release and “max. 63+1+1” on that page. MAN also states that “future integration of the MCS (Megawatt Charging System) standard will enable up to 750 kW”; the standard is described in megawatt charging.

Source notes

The figures above are the base MAN Lion’s Coach, the 12,101 mm two-axle model. Three more bodies share the driveline: the C (two axles) at 13,091 mm, the C (three axles) at 13,361 mm and the L at 13,901 mm, all 2,550 mm wide and 3,870 mm high. Permissible total weight is 19,700 kg on the base coach, 20,600 kg on the two-axle C and 25,530 kg on both three-axle models. Maximum seats run 53, 59, 57 and 61 and luggage space up to 11.7, 14.3, 11.8 and 13.2 m³ — every sheet prints that row “max.”, so they are ceilings per body rather than the hold of a particular coach — and the model with the most seats is not the model with the largest luggage maximum. Turning circles are 20,880 mm, 23,400 mm, 20,960 mm and 22,256 mm: the two-axle C needs the most room of the four although the L is 810 mm longer again — that subtraction is ours and MAN prints it nowhere. The engine card above carries the base coach’s own two steps. The D 2676 LOH is offered at 324 kW with 2,250 Nm and 353 kW with 2,450 Nm on the two shorter models, and at 353 kW with 2,450 Nm and 382 kW with 2,650 Nm on the two longer ones, so 382 kW and 2,650 Nm belong to the 13,361 mm and 13,901 mm bodies plated 25,530 kg and to no 12,101 mm coach; the 01/2023 brochure marks the six-speed automatic gearbox “(only at 480 hp)” on the C (three axles) and the L, a restriction it puts on neither shorter model. A wheelchair lift is “Optionally available” on all four sheets and the fuel row reads “Diesel, HVO” on all four. The battery-electric MAN Lion’s Coach 14 E is a separate driveline and is not in the grid above; its figures come from MAN’s Lion’s Coach E brochure footed 09/2025 and the Lion’s Coach E technical-data page, not from the diesel documents. A three-axle body of 13,968 mm on 2,550 mm and 3,885 mm, a technically permissible gross weight of 27,300 kg, an electric central motor of 330 kW continuous with an automated 4-speed MAN TipMatic, NMC packs and CCS charging at up to 375 kW. Usable capacity is two figures per pack count and not one, because MAN sells two depth-of-discharge strategies: the 09/2025 brochure gives four, five and six packs 231, 289 and 347 kWh usable at 65 per cent depth of discharge and 320, 400 and 480 kWh at 90 per cent, and only the 90 per cent set reaches either technical-data table. The range belongs to that same set — “up to 650 km (Maximum range battery usage strategy)”, footed “under optimal conditions” in the brochure and carrying MAN’s own “[in-development]” marker on the page. The Lion’s Coach E technical-data page carries the 14 E under the disclaimer “Vehicle is in prototype or development status”, and MAN’s release of 13 May 2025 puts series production in 2026 at Ankara, so the 14 E is not presented here as a vehicle on sale. Its published seat count is unresolved: 61 in the 09/2025 brochure and in the release of 13 May 2025, 63 in the release of 1 October 2025, and “max. 63+1+1” on the E technical-data page. No MAN Lion’s Coach data sheet, brochure or technical-data page opened states a Euro step, and no MAN Lion’s Coach document opened states a kerb weight, a permitted axle load, a tyre size, a tank volume, a door arrangement, a wheel formula, a UN Regulation No 107 class or a UN Regulation No 66 declaration. The “Euro 6e” above is MAN’s own newsroom wording, from the release of 6 October 2023; MAN’s releases of 16 February and 10 December 2021 say “Euro 6”.