It’s probably been the worst kept secret in recent trucking memory. But Kenworth has announced the return of an Australian icon, the T950
The T950 Legend will be a strictly limited build of only 75 trucks and is touted to be a homage to the brand’s long standing, tough-as-nails image on the Australian market.
And, if you happen to be reaching for the cheque book to place your order right away, you’re already too late. All 75 prime movers were snapped up within 48 hours of release of the big banger Kenny.
The T950 was dropped from the local Kenworth line up back in 2007, but the towering conventional has retained a loyal following with die hard followers of the brand.
The raised cab and long bonnet of the T950 means that there’s no engine intrusion into the cab of the truck.
While the imposing old school look of the revived T950 brings to mind multi-trailer roles in the back of beyond the model has also found favour over the years with loggers, livestock haulers and even east coast single trailer operators.
Previous limited edition trucks from the Bayswater factory have been restricted to bolt-on bling and some custom work on existing models such as the recent Director series T909.
However, the release of the T950 marks the first time that Kenworth has released a limited edition vehicle built on the production line.
A custom interior with custom badging gives the Kenny the traditional look even down to the woodgrain gear knob.
While outside retro Kenworth and Cummins badging have been specially manufactured for this truck. Under that long bonnet lies a suitably vintage beige coloured ISXe5 Cummins engine.
The move by Paccar into a seriously limited edition vehicle has also sparked speculation that there may be more to come from Kenworth in that department in the future.
Personally I’d like to see a modern day take on the old S2 model, but I’d have to be quick to jump the queue on that one.