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 ...

: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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Hyundai Motor Company Hyundai Motor Company, often abbreviated to Hyundai Motors ( ) and commonly known as Hyundai (, ; ), is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and founded in 1967. Currently, the company o ...

. 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 Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, Daewoo BV.

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 ...

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 An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, beari ...

, 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 Government in 1986, the

Stock Exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

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.

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