August, 2020- The final Kenworth K500 cabover was completed this month at the Kenworth assembly plant in Renton, Washington.

This officially ended production of the severe-service truck model after 14 years. The K500 served as one of Kenworth’s premier models (popular among oil and gas customers worldwide).

K500 Configurations

The K500 used a combination of the Kenworth C500 drivetrain with a modern COE cab. This configuration addressed the need for an on/off highway vehicle with improved job site visibility, and more cab space. The result was a shorter, more maneuverable truck/tractor with the mobile off-highway characteristics. This is what made the K500 highly desirable around the world, no matter the application. The K500 had several different configurations to choose from: 6×4, 6×6, 8×8 and 10×10.

The Final Purchase

Sintagma Holding purchased the final K500 (pictured at the top) for use by the Mining Society of Chitotolo in Luanda, Angola. The final K500 will be used in a gold mining operation.

This specific K500 features a Cummins 525 hp engine with 1,650 lb-ft of torque, Allison 4700RDS 7-speed transmission, and 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. The K500 also is spec’d with a 1,480-inch radiator, 30K front springs, and Chalmers 130K dual rear suspension.

Over the past 14 years, Kenworth delivered K500 units to many customers and countries worldwide. The first K500 order was in 2006 and 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,” said Laura Bloch, Kenworth assistant general manager for sales and marketing.