The Hyundai RB (
hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The le ...
:현대 알비, 현대RB) is a series of
rear engine coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
es manufactured by the
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
n
Hyundai Motor Company.
Most models of the coach are distinguishable by a rear engine, at coach model is commonly referred to as "RB" or Rear engine Bus, but the common Hyundai badge is usually used on the rear.
In Japan, Asia-Pacific, Mid-East, Africa, South America, its principal competitors are
Asia AM,
Daewoo BV
Daewoo ( ; Hangul: , Hanja: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerat ...
.
Model concept
The RB family of bus and coach chassis was evolved from designs made by Hyundai's
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
commercial vehicle subsidiary until 1978. The engine was mounted at the rear of the vehicle, and a passenger entrance was provided ahead of the front
axle, opposite to the
driver. The original RB520 and RB585 models later became the RB520 and RB585 automatics, and with constant revision and upgrading, they gave way to the RB600 by 1986. In an attempt to lower the floor height of the vehicle, the
supercharged diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...
was tilted over to one side around 1978.
In South Korea, the RB was popular during the 1980s, when considerable financial assistance was available to operators for fleet renewal. However, following the election of the
Grand National Party
The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...
Government in 1986, the
Stock Exchange money began to dry up causing demand for buses to decline. This led Hyundai to build the next-generation
Aero City bus around 1991.
Now only a small number of RB buses remain in passenger use, but many have gone on to second lives as mobile
tour bus
A tour bus service is an escorted tour (sometimes a package holiday) or bus service that takes visitors sightseeing, with routes around tourist attractions.
Information
Double-decker buses and open top buses are commonly used, for provid ...
es and stock
car transporters
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
.
Models
*RB 520: City Bus of urban & suburban bus
*RB 585: Tour Bus of private & commercial bus
*RB 600: Tour Bus of private & commercial bus
*RB 635: Express Bus
Coaches (bus)
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Cab over vehicles
{{Modern-auto-stub
Hyundai buses