The double-decker touring coach is now also unmistakably part of the Setra model family thanks to a design upgrade. Designer Stefan Handt describes the modifications.
SetraWorld Magazine
A fresh look.
The S 531 DT presents a shiny new family face.
A fresh look.
It’s new, yet remains the one we're all familiar with: the team headed up by Daimler Buses head of design Stefan Handt has upgraded the fascinating Setra S 531 DT with minor yet skilful strokes. Handt sums it up, saying "We have visually upgraded the double-decker touring coach. And we have done that without making the previous model look outdated." A Setra doesn't age, it matures. And now the travel giant bears the new face of the family too.
Reminiscence of Setra's brand tradition.
The new front-end design of the TopClass S 531 DT emphasises the coherence across all model series. The central element is the high-gloss black front panel, framed by strips of chrome. The confident, three-dimensional brand lettering is also chrome-plated. The round Kässbohrer brand emblem is placed right in the centre above it. “It represents the tradition of Setra as a major brand of bus and touring coach,” says Handt.
“The Kässbohrer brand emblem represents the tradition of the major bus and touring coach brand.”
Confident attitude.
“The Setra inextricably unites form and function", says Stefan Handt, noting an aspect that's important to him. The new headlights are just one example of this. The black chrome housing paired with the look of the LED lighting is reminiscent of theatre spotlights or the sun visor of a camera lens. The lights are given a clear proof of origin with finely integrated Setra brand lettering. “This is also an effective instrument against product piracy,” the designer notes.
Looking further up, a three-dimensional chrome strip separates the windscreens of the double-decker touring coach's lower and upper decks across the entire width. “It structures the large surface and makes the front-end seem less bulky” the head of design explains.
“The Setra inextricably unites form and function.”
The S 531 DT, upgraded in terms of design, looks good from every perspective. This becomes evident from the seemingly three-dimensional character element with integrated brand lettering on the side of the Setra and the new rear lights. It goes without saying that the lights at the rear end also bear integrated brand lettering. “A Setra is more than a bus or touring coach, it’s a statement,” designer Stefan Handt explains. That can certainly be said of the mighty double-decker touring coach.
