logical step towards protecting the company, it resulted in the fate of many other Hungarian businesses, including Csepel. In spite of the numerous setbacks, Ikarus managed to stay above water, partially thanks to some newly conquered markets such as the United Kingdom. At the very end of the 1980s, Ikarus managed to export some of the 300-series models to the island, which built a basis for further partnership. From 1990 to 2001, the company developed and exported three models exclusively for the UK, the last of which was designed in 2000, named the Ikarus 489 Polaris and was a very up-to-date, modern vehicle. Ikarus continued developing new models up until it went out of business. In 1993, the company built its first fully low-floored model, the Ikarus 411. With this vehicle, Ikarus was among the first companies to announce such a model. The first fully low-floored bus was the Van Hool A300 in 1991. Nonetheless, only a limited number of the model was produced, mainly because the bus was only 11 metres long, which at the time was not considered very practical. The company realised the issue and developed the successor of the model, the Ikarus 412, which was 12 metres long. On the other hand, Ikarus was the company that produce the first fully low-floored articulated bus in the world. It was Ikarus 417, which due to its modern features was very popular at first, and the German city of Wuppertal immediately ordered 17 units. The success of the model did not last long, though, because it had some recurring mechanical issues. As a result, only 32 units were sold over the next 7 years. In 1998, a refurbished version of the old 200-series was developed, called the Classic-series. The old models received redesigned fronts/backs and new, more efficient Rába D10 or Detroit Diesel S50 engines. The Classic-series proved to be a success, since the Eastern and Hungarian customers were glad to buy the newer versions of the familiar models, while Ikarus also gained somewhat more income on producing them. In 1999, the French Irisbus bought the already ailing Ikarus, which from this point started its downfall. Irisbus had no long-term plan with the brand itself, it was mostly pushing for Ikarus' factories and markets. In 2003, the French majority ownership concluded that it couldn't acquire these markets and decided that after closing down the factory in Budapest, in