Kenworth Truck Co. is retiring its K500 severe-service off-highway truck after 14 years. The export-only truck was sold mostly to oil and gas exploration and mining customers in Asia, Russia and Africa.
The PACCAR Inc. (NASDAQ: PCAR) brand built just 283 of the vertical front, “flat face” K500 models in its plant in Renton, Washington.
Sintagma Holding purchased the last Kenworth K500 cabover for a gold mining operation of the Mining Society of Chitotolo (Sociedade Mineira do Chitotolo) in Luanda, Angola. The first K500 order in 2006 went to Karamay in China as part of a total order of eight K500s.
“The Kenworth K500 cabover has been a stellar truck model, and provided excellent performance and reliability for our customers worldwide,” Laura Bloch, Kenworth assistant general manager for sales and marketing, said in a statement.
The K500 uses a combination of the Kenworth C500 drivetrain with a modern cab-over-engine semi-hood. The cab sits forward of the front axle to improve job site visibility with more space than conventional models.
Available in a variety of configurations, including 6×4, 6×6, 8×8 and 10×10, the shorter, more maneuverable K500 designed for on-and-off highway use gained popularity with customers, Kenworth said.
The Kenworth K500 features a Cummins 525 horsepower engine with 1,650 pound-feet of torque and an Allison 4700RDS 7-speed transmission. It also incorporates AxleTech tandem rear axles rated at 100,000 pounds with a 9.59 rear axle ratio. The front axle is a new Meritor front drive axle rated at 32,000 pounds with a 9.66 axle ratio.
Kenworth still offers the 963 and C500 models in oilfields overseas. The C500 also is available in the U.S. and Canada. No replacement cabover is planned at this time, Parietti said.
Related articles:
PACCAR aligns Kenworth and Peterbilt electrification systems suppliers
CES 2020: Kenworth quietly reveals autonomous truck
CES 2020: Kenworth collaborates with Dana on medium-duty electric truck
