Like the preceding
Crown-Ikarus 286 and
Orion-Ikarus 286 articulated buses sold in the 1980s, rolling shells for the SFW series were assembled by the
Ikarus Bus company in Hungary and finished in the United States to meet
Buy America requirements for federally-subsidized transit vehicles. After its partnership with
Crown Coach dissolved in 1986, Ikarus entered a joint venture with Union City Body Company (UCBC) of
Union City, Indiana to sell domestic versions of the rigid Ikarus 415 as the Ikarus USA 416, with final assembly occurring at the UCBC plant in
Anniston, Alabama, starting in 1989. The articulated Ikarus USA 436 was added to the lineup in 1991. The first 416 order was delivered to the
Jacksonville Transportation Authority in 1989; the first 436 order was delivered to the
Port Authority of Allegheny County in 1991. Ikarus built a prototype 416 powered by
liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 1991, claimed to be the first LNG-powered bus produced in the United States. The prototype was built at the request of
Metro in Houston, and was completed three days before another bus was retrofitted with an LNG Detroit Diesel engine by Stewart & Stevenson. UCBC declared bankruptcy in 1992, after which production was resumed at Anniston under the auspices of American Ikarus, which was renamed North American Bus Industries (NABI) in 1997. In 1998, NABI announced the SFW line would be available with a stainless steel frame as an option. The articulated 436 was discontinued in 2002, with the final order produced for
SamTrans. A 'Gen II' restyle of the 416 was unveiled in 2008, which added small quarter windows at the front between the windshield and the door or driver's side window, making the appearance similar to NABI's LFW Gen II (also unveiled in 2008). The restyled 416 was only ordered by
NJ Transit. 416 bodies were assembled in Hungary until late 2012, when body production transitioned to Anniston. The 416 was discontinued in 2013, when NABI was sold to
New Flyer Industries. == Numbering ==