In 1966 Duple's standard 'Bella' family of coach bodies for full-sized front-engined chassis was sold under a variety of model names specific to the chassis: Bella Venture (Bedford VAM), Empress (Ford R192), Mariner (Ford R226) and Vega Major (Bedford VAL), all of which were built at Duple's original Hendon factory in North London.

The effect was to make the upper half of the coach aft of the angled window pillar appear to be entirely glazed when viewed from the side.

For the 1972 season the Viceroy Express body was built on YRQ and R192 chassis, this having bus-type doors and other modifications to make them suitable for OMO (one-man operation) stage carriage services.

[7] Despite being increasingly outmoded the Viceroy, along with the smaller Vista and Vega, continued to sell well on lightweight chassis until the end of production.

The Dominant was heavily influenced by the styling of the Plaxton Panorama Elite,[11][12] with the same large curved windows and the added advantage of being of all-metal construction.

Viceroy bodies remained a common sight on Britain's roads well into the 1980s, but their timber-framed construction and the fact that they were almost all built on less durable lightweight chassis meant that by the end of the decade very few were still in use as coaches.

After the brakes on a 1967 Bedford VAM5 failed it ran out of control down a steep gradient and rolled over on the curve at the bottom, falling over the side of a bridge and landing on and crushing its roof.

The accident led to tougher structural standards for coach bodywork,[13] although by that time Duple and other manufacturers had already switched from wooden frames to stronger all-metal bodies.