a new market segment, known as a midibus, with the introduction of the Dennis Dart. Optare soon introduced a competitor, the Vecta, albeit slightly bigger and wider than the Dart at that time, seating 40 in a full width 2.5m body. The chassis was the MAN 11.190 and featured a ZF gearbox and full air suspension. The bodywork was a scaled down version of the Delta. The CityPacer and StarRider were phased out in the years after Optare purchased the design for the MCW Metrorider in July 1989, rebranding it as the Optare MetroRider. This was a larger design than the CityPacer, and more robust when compared to the StarRider. It was Optare's first venture into fully integral vehicle manufacturing, and became the mainstay of the Optare midi/minbus offering until the low floor Solo was introduced in 1997. DAF/United Bus In 1990, Optare joined a group called the United Bus, which included DAF Bus. Having already used a DAF SB220 chassis on the Delta, now as part of United Bus, Optare collaborated with DAF to design the Optare Spectra. It was based on the modified design of the MCW Metrobus purchased by Optare, and combined parts from it and the SB220 to form a new double deck chassis, designated DB250, with Optare bodywork called Spectra. Due to the United bus relationship and joint design, the Spectra was built exclusively on DB250 chassis. As well as having a striking front end, the Spectra was also recognisable for having no rear window. Introduced in 1990 it was described as a "partly low-floor double-decker". Despite the association with DAF, in 1991 Optare also launched a conventional height midibus in on the MAN 11.180 chassis, the Vecta. After the collapse of United Bus in 1993, Optare was again returned to independent status with another management buyout. The reaction to the collapse of United Bus was the release in the next two years of two Delta derived single deck buses on different non-DAF chassis, the Sigma and Prisma, the latter being on the Mercedes-Benz O405 chassis which had a generic Mercedes-Benz style front end rather than the recognisable Optare family face. Optare acquired Autobus Classique in 1996, shortly after the launch of their Nouvelle luxury minicoach. Optare significantly redesigned and rebadged it in 1997 as the Nouvelle 2, and it served similar markets to the StarRider/MetroRider coach versions. Also in 1997 a relationship with a