What Was The Most Unusual Luxury Bus?

Comfort, convenience and versatility are the three biggest parts of the luxury minibus experience. Hiring and chartering a minibus will get you to your destination and back in the most relaxed way possible.

Part of the reason for this convenience and versatility is how many minibuses are made; many minibuses were originally based on van platforms, making them more manoeuvrable and easier to drive comfortably for passengers.

However, a van was also the platform for one of the most unusual luxury buses ever made, one that was believed for decades to have been lost to time and was so striking that it became a mobile tourist attraction in itself.

Standing Out In The City Of Light

Based on the Citroen Type 55, the Citroen U55 Cityrama Currus is one of the most unusually styled and designed minibuses ever made, designed in conjunction with a major French bus manufacturer and a Paris-based tour company.

Part of this is the fact that it is a double-decker bus, with a relatively small upper deck added to the main lower deck, but this is seldom the first detail people notice about the bus.

The front nose is shaped like a boat hull, multiple tail fins form an embossed red stripe across the back of the design, and there are so many glass windows that it resembles an early jumbo jet.

It immediately stood out a mile, even in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, and this was the goal Groupe Cityrama had when they asked Currus to design the unusually futuristic design.

During an era when philosopher Roland Barthes described another Citroen as a “new Nautilus”, the Cityrama stood out as one of the most striking buses in the world.

However, what made it special was not its eye-catching looks but the influential effect it had on luxury bus design in the future. 

Riding The Cityrama

Besides the huge windows which helped with visibility, the upper deck was retractable, designed for Parisian summers, smoking (back when that was legal in buses) and as a contingency plan in case the weather turned somewhat sour.

Many coaches continue to have sunshine roofs alongside air conditioning for a comfortable ride, but in 1955 this was unusual, especially since most tour buses then and now opt instead for an open-top roof instead of a unique retractable alternative..

On the subject of comfort, the seats were remarkably comfortable for the era, with the double-decker arrangement allowing them to feature additional legroom and reclining seats.

They even had a set of headphones which provided information about the many different landmarks of Paris narrated in seven different languages.

On-board catering was available as well, something that was at the time associated far more with railway travel.

Too Strange To Last

Whilst the bus had a starring role in the surreal comedy Zazie dans le Metro and was an instant hit with the tourists it was designed for, it ultimately was not destined to last forever, much to the disappointment of anyone who had an enjoyable ride on it.

Unlike some long-running buses such as the famous London Routemaster, the Cityrama had a rather substantial number of very contemporary issues underneath its futuristic body.

The biggest issue was the cooling system, something that was likely not helped by the bodywork design itself and its overall weight. The beautiful glass pod design created a greenhouse effect that substantially heated up the bus. 

Whilst the passengers were generally safe from discomfort, particularly on the upper deck, the bus itself was not. Eventually, a radiator grill was added, followed by a second and then a third.

None of this helped, so an oil cooler was added but by this point, the writing was on the wall for the Cityrama. 

The final straw was when one of them caught fire on Rue de Rivoli and burned completely out, although nobody was hurt. By 1959, Cityrama ordered a more conventional double-decker bus and decided to run the original Cityrama until it could not be feasibly used anymore.

By 1980, it had been retired entirely, and as of 2025, only one example is known to exist out of the less than ten that were originally made. This makes it one of the rarest bus types in history.

It will live on, however. After a surviving, working but careworn model was bought by a French utility vehicle owner’s club, it is undergoing a significant and complete restoration that should help revive interest in a popular and influential bus that has languished in obscurity.