The Leyland Leopard is a medium/heavy weight underfloor engined chassis. An sp after the model designation indicates a special variation to the specification.
| Model | Description |
|---|---|
| L1 | Bus Chassis 600 Engine, Synchro gearbox, 194in Wheelbase, 360in Chassis Built 1959-65 |
| L2 | Coach Chassis 600 Engine, Synchro gearbox, 194in Wheelbase, 360in Chassis Built 1959-65 None of this chassis are believe to have been exported but Newlands 1 was registered as an L2 |
| PSU3/1R | Bus Chassis 600 Engine, Syncro gearbox, 222in Wheelbase, 432in Chassis |
| PSU3/2R | Bus Chassis 600 Engine, Pneumatic gearbox, 222in Wheelbase, 432in Chassis |
| PSU4/1R | Bus Chassis 600 Engine, Synchro gearbox, 194in Wheelbase, 370in Chassis |
| PSU3A-E/2R | Bus Chassis 680 Engine, Pneumatic gearbox, 222in Wheelbase, 432in Chassis |
| PSU3A-E/4R | Coach Chassis 680 Engine, Pneumatic gearbox, 222in Wheelbase, 432in Chassis |
| PSU3G/2R | Bus Chassis uprated 680 Engine, Pneumatic gearbox, 222in Wheelbase, 432in Chassis |
| PSU4B/4R | Coach Chassis 680 Engine, Pneumatic gearbox, 194in Wheelbase, 370in Chassis |
The PSU3 and PSU4 acquired letter suffixes as changes were made to the specification
PSU3A 680 Engine, gearbox changes
PSU3B New axles
PSU3C Uprated brakes
PSU3D Gear change slector mounted on Steering column. Earlier models have a pedestal
PSU3E Repositioned brake reservoirs
The vehicles on this page are actively tracked. The last registration record search was 29 August 2008.

Photo: Graeme Farrar
In 1980 Bonnici Coachlines purchased 10 Leyland Leopard PSU3E/2R coaches with air-conditioned Hawke/Bonicietti Supercruiser C45F bodies for Trans Tours work. These buses continued the Bonnici tradition of acres of polished metal. With take overs and shake ups in the industry these passed as a fleet to Midland Motors and then to H & H Travel Lines. In 1984 seven were operating out of Christchurch (101 to 107) and three out of Auckland (108 to 110).
Car Haulaways had two Leopard chassis that were used for car transporters out of their Takanini depot from 1966-71. These were a big step up from the rest of the fleet of Ausitn or Morris forward control trucks. The chassis were greatly modified - especially L40252 which was built as a PSU3/2R coach chassis. The motor registration records show the vehicles belonging to Car Haulaways (NZ) Ltd, Cable Price Corp and Plamerston North motors before passing to the first PSV owner. DB5539 is shown as belonging to Cable Price Corp and passing to Car Haulways ownership only on the day it was resold to Palmerston North Motors. I suspect these two entries have been reversed when earlier records were captured and the vehicles were traded in to Cable Price when replaced. I have omitted the Cable Price and Palmerston North Motors ownership from these records as I only show dealer owners if the vehicle has remained with them for some time. The LTSA records show FQ6986 and HM4303 as the first plates in 1966. I believe these plates were first used when the chassis were registered as buses in 1971.
Twelve PSU3A/2Rsp buses with Emslie bodies. 168-175 are B41D and 176-179 are B45D
28 PSU3E/2R buses with NZMB/Hess aluminium 45seat bodies. 180 and 181 were DP45D, the remainder B45D
| # | Chassis Nbr/VIN | Year | Original Reg | Later Owner | # | Later Reg | Date | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 800464 | ET4044 | 1968 | broken down for spares by Eastbourne Bus Co | . | NO5601 | 1990 | PSU4/1R NZMB B41F | |
| 6 | 600346 | CQ1406 | 1962 | Cesta Travel | 33 | CQ1406 | 1993 | L1 NZMB B39F | |
| Hanhams Buses, Albany | 33? | CQ1406 | 1997? | Body transferred to a new chassis | |||||
| 11 | 7001524 | FH1225 | 1970 | Eastbourne Bus Co | 26 | ? | ? | PSU4/1R Hawke B41F | |
| Pickering Motors Ltd, Opunake | 36 | ? | 1989 | PSU4/1R Hawke B41F | |||||
| 19 | 600348 | CQ1419 | 1961 | Community Transport Services | 19 | CQ1419 | . | L1 NZMB B39F |
Two Leopard PSU3D/4R buses with Hawke DP45D bodies. Chassis numbers shown are those that are believed to be correct and not those on LTSA record
| # | Chassis Nbr/VIN | Year | Original Reg | Later Owner | # | Later Reg | Date | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 7603855 | IU9333 | 3/7/78 | Thomas Te Kahu, Gisborne | ? | IU9333 | 9/8/91 | later 856 | |
| Clark Pacific Ltd, Kawakawa | 42 | IU9333 | 11/6/98 | CoF exp 04/02 | |||||
| withdrawn from use | 11/3/05 | ||||||||
| 8 | 7608859 | IU9334 | 3/7/78 | Thomas Te Kahu, Gisborne | ? | IU9334 | 10/9/91 | later 857 | |
| Clark Pacific Ltd, Kawakawa | 44 | IU9334 | 11/6/98 | . | |||||
| J S Matene, Tautoro, Kaikohe | IU9334 | 15/8/05 | No CoF |
One L1 with NZMB B39D body
| # | Chassis Nbr/VIN | Year | Original Reg | Later Owner | # | Later Reg | Date | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 600347 | EQ4395 | 1960 | No LTSA record | . | . | . | Still with Greyhound in 1991. Gone by Tranzit takeover |
Four PSU3E/2R vehicles all with Hawke Hunter bodies but a variety of seating.
Six PSU3G/2R vehicles all with Hawke Hunter bodies but a variety of seating.
This coach was built on the chassis of Maidstone & District 3471 first registered 12/72 as GKJ 471L with Marshall B45F body. The chassis arrived in New Zealand in 1984 via Australia.
| # | Chassis Nbr/VIN | Year | Original Reg | Later Owner | # | Later Reg | Date | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 7201646 | LT6418 | 29/3/85 | Geoff Brown Truck Sales | . | LT6418 | 11/4/95 | CWI C45F PSU4B/4R | |
| Corgi Company, Picton | . | LT6418 | 27/2/96 | David Steele | |||||
| Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Arowhenua, Invercargill | . | LT6418 | 12/9/97 | W K Walker; Reg on hold 07 | |||||
| S W Wainui, Invercargill | . | LT6418 | 13/5/07 | Reg on hold 07 |
One L1 with NZMB B37F body
| # | Chassis Nbr/VIN | Year | Original Reg | Later Owner | # | Later Reg | Date | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 600657 | ER9690 | 16/10/62 | Madge Coach Lines Ltd | 103 | ER9690 | c1991 | . | |
| S M Greaves, Palmerston North | . | ER9690 | 2/2/95 | Movan? | |||||
| D A Bryce, Woodville | . | ER9690 | 16/2/98 | Movan? | |||||
| M C Hodson & N G Woodhouse, Dunedin | . | ER9690 | 20/2/04 | Movan CoF exp 08/04 | |||||
| B A Smith, Brighton, Dunedin | . | ER9690 | 20/10/04 | Movan No CoF | |||||
| R D & F A Lamb, Brighton, Dunedin | . | ER9690 | 12/12/04 | Movan | |||||
| H S Knierum, Brighton, Dunedin | . | ER9690 | 20/3/06 | Movan; CoF exp 06/07 |
One L1 with Hawke DP47F body
| # | Chassis Nbr/VIN | Year | Original Reg | Later Owner | # | Later Reg | Date | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | L02800 | ET8808 | 1964 | Destroyed by fire | . | . | late 60s | . |
PSU3A/4R with Midland DP45F body
Midland Edwards Leyland Leopard 101 Photo John Wolf
| # | Chassis Nbr/VIN | Year | Original Reg | Later Owner | # | Later Reg | Date | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | 900784 | DI3529 | 16/10/69 | Midland Coachlines Ltd | 301 | DI3529 | 12/6/72 | later 001 | |
| Mainline Coachways Ltd, Milford, Auckland | 451 | DI3529 | 11/11/82 | . | |||||
| Shaws Transport Ltd, Pukekohe | 21 | DI3529 | 5/10/84 | . | |||||
| Murphys' Buses, Thames | 23 | DI3529 | 25/2/86 | . | |||||
| J K Fitzpatrick & G D Hopa, Morrinsville | ? | DI3529 | 11/3/02 | Movan; Cof Exp 02/03 | |||||
| J K Fitzpatrick, Morrinsville | ? | DI3529 | 23/12/05 | Movan; Reg on hold 03 | |||||
| G L Patterson, Wainuiomata | DI3529 | 25/7/08 | Movan; Reg on hold 03 | ||||||
| 102 | 900783 | DI3942 | 1969 | Mainline Coachways Ltd, Auckland | 452 | DI3942 | 1982 | Later Midland 302, 002; No LTSA record |
Six Leopard PSU3E/2R with a variety of bodies.
Newlands Coach Service owned five Leyland Leopards from new. A number of ex-Wellington, Dunedin and Invercargill Leopards have also been used
Takapuna one PSU3/2R with NZMB DP44D body
LTSA records show the chassis number as 7603735 but this chassis is Dunedin 177.
One L2 with Midland DP36F body. This bus was registered to Central Coaches Ltd, Dunedin until 1995 but operated by Turnbull Coaches then Ritchies (who took over Turnbulls c1974) during that period.
| # | Chassis Nbr/VIN | Year | Original Reg | Later Owner | # | Later Reg | Date | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | L02801 | DK4541 | 10/6/64 | Ritchies Transport Holdings Ltd | 27 | . | . | . | |
| R W Gray, Motueka | . | DK4541 | 19/5/95 | No CoF | |||||
| R P Wilkinson, Granity | . | DK4541 | 29/2/96 | No CoF | |||||
| registration lapsed | . | . | 31/8/97 | . |
Sixteen PSU3/2R buses with NZMB B41D bodies. These buses earned the nickname Breadvans owing to the similarities with the body work on Tip Top bakeries breadvans of that period built on BMC chassis. The chassis on these buses was shortened to about 400 inches with a 210 inch wheelbase.
16 PSU3C/2R buses with Hawke Hunter B40D bodies.
62 PSU3E/2R buses with Hawke Hunter B40D bodies. 479-482 were ex-New Plymouth and ex-Invercargill buses