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The Phantom is based on the high-floor version
of the Optare Spectra, which first appeared on British roads in
1992 and is a modern evolution of the MCW Metrobus.
Optare, formally a part of United Bus (Including DAF and BOVA),
purchased the rights to the 15-year-old design from the defunct
Metro Cammell Weymann business. The Spectra was sold exclusively on
the DAF DB250RS chassis until around 1994 after which it was made
available to other coachbuilders, such as Alexander and Northern
Counties.
The design was relaunched in 1998 as the UK’s first ever
low-floor bus, the DB250RS LF. It sold in large batches to regular
customers such as Arriva, Reading Buses and Wilts & Dorset.
Production continued until the last examples left the production
line in 2005.
Today, most Spectras have been removed from public service (as
emissions regulations become tighter with many cities adopting Low
Emission Zones) although a few lucky ones have been saved from the
scrap yard by passionate enthusiasts and will continue their life
in preservation for many years to come.