Wiltshire-based tour operation N&K Tours has taken delivery of its first-ever new coach – an extraordinary 42-seat super-luxury i6 Integral with a servery.
Nigel and Kim Westbrook who, between them, are N&K run around 30 luxury tours a year, Nigel behind the wheel and his wife Kim the courier and guide. When they set up in 2013, the couple hired in their coaching requirement but quickly decided to bite the bullet and buy.
“I’d come across Irizar coaches when I worked at Bakers Dolphin,” said Nigel. “As far as I could see, nobody could come close to its Gold Coach product. So in the middle of 2014, I called Julie Hartley at Irizar UK and told her we were interested in buying a coach with a kitchen.
“At our first meeting, we set down the specification, and Irizar UK went away and got it built. It is absolutely lovely. I’ve just taken it up to Scotland in wind, snow, rain and along narrow roads and it passed the driving test with flying colours.”
N&K’s tri-axle i6 Integral is a 13.8-metre coach with a huge specification. In addition to the 42 PB half-leather seats with seatback tables and magazine nets, it has wifi and CCTV, DVD and three monitors, loo, reversing camera, Bosch sat-nav and, overhead, aircraft-style lockers. It’s crowning glory is the kitchen, fitted by AD Coach Systems of Stoke-on-Trent, which has worked with Irizar UK regularly, and is one of its service agents.
“In my view, this vehicle is among the most impressive tour vehicles we have ever produced,” said Irizar UK’s Business Development Manager, Julie Hartley. “The Westbrook’s have chosen fabrics and colours which give the coach a lovely, bright and airy feel.”
The coach has DAF’s Paccar MX13 series engine to Euro 6 rated at 462bhp, and uses the proven ZF AS-Tronic auto-shift gearbox.Nigel and Kim have their stall set out for a whole season of touring, around half of which is to mainland Europe. In fact, last September’s Austrian tour was also their honeymoon!
For more information visit: www.nigelandkim.co.uk
or visit: www.irizar.co.uk
