It's a question you've probably asked yourself a few times. What is the best-selling combustion engine in the world? Here at Reason Automobile, no one knew the answer. Thanks Google…
Around here, we thought about the Volkswagen Carocha, the Toyota Corolla, but we were all far from the correct answer. I still said out loud “it must be a Honda”, because the Japanese brand is the world's largest manufacturer of gasoline engines, but I said it without any conviction. And in truth, I was far from guessing...
Enough of the suspense. The best-selling combustion engine in the world doesn't belong to a car, it belongs to a motorcycle: the Honda Super Cub.
Since we are talking about the Honda Super Cub, it is worth saying that this motorcycle has reached this year the 100 million units produced since 1958, the year in which the first generation was launched.
A little more history?
Let's do it! Since you are here, let's get to the bottom of the matter. When the Honda Super Cub was launched in 1958, the small-displacement motorcycle market was dominated by two-stroke engines — and even high-performance motorcycles were all two-stroke. If, like me, you also grew up in the interior of the country, somewhere during your childhood you must also have been in a couple or a Famel. Engines were noisier, more polluting but less complex and more lively. In the 1960s, four-stroke engines were still rocket science in the two-wheel world.When Honda launched the Super Cub equipped with a small air-cooled four-stroke single-cylinder engine, it was a "rock in the pond". This engine was “bullet proof” and required virtually no maintenance. It consumed practically no gasoline and the centrifugal clutch also helped to gain more customers. Only advantages, therefore.
But it wasn't just thanks to the engine that the Honda Super Cub gained the status it has today. Its cycling also concealed many advantages. The low center of gravity, the mechanical accessibility and the load capacity are assets that last until today. If you've ever visited an Asian country, you've almost certainly been run over by one.
It was this motorcycle that put «Asia on wheels». And I'm not exaggerating!
true to the original concept
The Honda Super Cub's original concept is so ingenious that after 59 years of production, Honda has barely touched the formula. The four-stroke single-cylinder engine still retains its original architecture today. The biggest change in technological terms came in 2007, when Honda Super Cub first adopted the PGM-FI electronic fuel injection system over the old-fashioned carburetor.
In practice, the Honda Super Cub is almost like the Porsche 911 but it has nothing to do with it… ahead!
The success continues to this day. The Honda Super Cub is currently produced in 15 countries and is sold in 160 markets globally. Around here, our «Honda Super Cub» is called Honda PCX. Your car's rearview mirrors must have had an immediate encounter with one of these…
One more interesting fact
Do you like the new Honda Civic? Are you dreaming of a CBR 1000RR and thrilled with Marc Marquez's MotoGP victories? — I didn't mention Formula 1 for obvious reasons… So thanks Honda Super Cub.
In addition to being the carrier of the world's best-selling combustion engine, it was for many years Honda's "golden egg chicken". Let's go back to the past once more. Damn this chronicle never ends! I swear the plan was to write just three paragraphs...
Honda's "savior"
In the late 1980s, Honda was going through one of the best periods in its history. On all business fronts (cars, motorcycles, work engines, etc.) things went well for the Japanese brand. Until Soichiro Honda, founder of the brand, died — it was 1991.
It wasn't a drama, but it was enough for Honda to be "caught" by its main competitors. The Civic and Accord stopped selling what they were selling (mostly in the US), and profits plummeted. At this time less happy, the Japanese brand earned the humble Honda Super Cub.
As they say in Alentejo, “even from the worst bush comes the best rabbit”, isn't it true? In Japanese I have no idea what they say, but they are like the people from Alentejo: they have sayings for everything! And by chance there is a phrase by Soichiro Honda that tells me a lot:
Soichiro Honda“My biggest thrill is when I plan something and it fails. My mind is then filled with ideas on how I can improve it.”
It's been that way with Reason Automobile. It was thanks to many failures that today we are in the TOP 3 of the most read car portals in Portugal. We are the Car of the Year jury in Portugal, and we are the only national representatives in the World Car of The Year. BAZINGA! And soon we're going to launch a Youtube channel, but nobody knows yet! And nobody reads these texts until the end, so I think it will continue in the "secret of the gods".
But if you're one of the few readers who broke about three minutes of life reading this column, let me tell you this: it's unforgivable not to follow Reason Car on Instagram yet — now it's the part where you follow this link ( go… it costs nothing!).
PS: You can also follow my personal Instagram here, but it doesn't have much interest.