It nearly ended up on the scrap heap. The Setra ST 110 had finally served its time after years as a playmobile in Zweibrücken, where it had been towed from playground to playground without an engine, gearbox or interior fittings. Yet fortunate circumstances and the mediation of the customer, Autokraft Kiel, led to the lightweight bus finding its way back to Ulm and into the Setra vintage collection.

That was exactly 30 years ago. Countless work hours, plenty of skill and a proper dose of improvisation by the Setra service team were necessary to get the weather-beaten body over the years back into a condition worthy of the historic significance of the rare vehicle.

Although Kässbohrer only made around 80 units of the Setra ST 110, this model is indeed a milestone in the history of coachbuilding. The design and economic benefits of this service bus model, which goes back to a joint development between Kässbohrer and the Oldenburg bus operator and builder, Theodor Pekol, are still as impressive today as when the ST 110 came to life in 1958. For instance, this bus weighs only around 6,000 kilograms yet has a payload of 7,500 kilograms – a ratio that has not been achieved since. Incidentally: a payload of 7,500 kilograms equates to a capacity of 110 passengers – thus its type designation.

Responsible for the work of art with the low tare weight among other things is the lightweight bodywork in an aluminium shell construction, where panelling made of sheet aluminium was riveted onto ring frames made of lightweight metal. The ST 110 in the Setra vintage collection therefore still shows off the typical rivet points, which run like pimpled scars across the dark red painted sides in regular lines. Although the collector’s piece with the chassis number 59068 today bears a railway red coat together with signets of the former Deutsche Bundesbahn, this does not correspond to its delivery state but is a tribute to the largest customer for this type. Most of the 80 units delivered were put into operation as railway buses in Munich, Ravensburg and Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance.

Another design engineering milestone and additional factor for the sensationally low inherent weight was the elaborate chassis: singlewheel suspension on both the front and rear axle made it possible to fit single tyres on the drive axle. The independent suspension also provided an unrivalled ride comfort. More so because, for the first time in a bus, it featured air suspension on both axles. Bus drivers and passengers were thus full of praise for the lightweight Setra.

A low entry using only one step on both doors made access to the passenger cabin easier on the ST 110. The generous interior with its level floor all the way to the rear axle and the single seats along the side walls looks inviting and much more voluminous than it actually is at 10.58 metres long and 2.50 metres wide.

Today a horizontally installed Henschel type 522 DPU-K six-cylinder engine with 92 kW (125 BHP) labours in the rear of the restored ST 110 once again. After its existence in Zweibrücken, although the vehicle came to Ulm with no drive system, as luck would have it, a long-forgotten original motor new from the factory was found in the depths of the service parts warehouse, with which the Setra service team breathed new life into the ST 110 once again. What a shame if it had ended up on the scrap heap as planned.