Scania R 650 V8 50th Anniversary Edition

2019 - 2020

Published on 08.11.2026

Scania Australia announced the 50th Anniversary Edition of the R 650 V8 in August 2019 to mark half a century of Scania V8 engines. The edition was limited to 50 trucks, all built as R 650 V8 6×4 prime movers, and order books opened at the announcement. Deliveries were planned for early 2020, and the first truck was handed over at the end of March 2020.

All trucks were finished in Ghost White with Ebony Black gloss chassis and trim highlights and Ebony Black gloss wheels. The cab carries 50-year V8 stripes and V8 decals, and the press photos show a large gold V8 emblem on the door and gold striping along the cab side. Inside, a numbered plaque identifies each truck as an anniversary special; one report says the plaque is signed by Scania Australia’s managing director Mikael Jansson and sales director Dean Dal Santo.

The cab is the R-series CR20N High Roof Sleeper with four-point air suspension, and the bunk pulls out to 1,000 mm (39.4 in) wide. The seats are black leather with red stitching and seat heating, and the V8 steering wheel has a flat bottom and red stitching. The equipment also includes an electric glass roof hatch, an electrically adjustable roof deflector, a factory cab cooler integrated into the cab ventilation and a premium sound system with upgraded speakers and a subwoofer.

The engine is the Scania DC16 650, a 16.4-litre (1,001 cu in) V8 meeting Euro 6 with SCR and XPI fuel injection. It produces 650 hp (485 kW) at 1,900 rpm and 3,300 Nm (2,434 lb-ft) at 950-1,350 rpm, about 300 Nm more than the earlier 620 hp version.

The gearbox is the GRSO925R with 14 speeds plus overdrive, controlled by Scania Opticruise with a fully automatic clutch. Scania says the layshaft brake in the gearbox speeds up gear changes by 45 percent. Braking is by ABS/EBS with disc brakes and an R4100 retarder.

Standard equipment includes LED head and tail lamps and daytime running lights, climate control, driver and passenger side curtain airbags, steering wheel airbag, seat belt pretensioners, advanced emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and an electronic stability system with traction control. A five-year or 500,000 km (310,686 miles) maintenance plan was included.

Dean Dal Santo, Scania Australia’s director of truck sales, said the special edition R 650 had been specified with Australian customers in mind and would provide an eye-catching hero to any fleet. Scania stated that V8 models account for around half of the more than 1,000 Scania trucks sold in Australia each year.

The first truck went to the Matic Group of Perth, Western Australia, where it works for Matic Resources on a heavy haulage float carrying loads of about 100 tonnes (220,462 lb) to the Pilbara; the truck is rated at 145 tonnes (319,670 lb). It wears a black and gold Matic Resources livery with black rims and a bull bar.