Parked up in the yard or rolling down the highway with a load of precast concrete or structural steel on the back, the striking flat-roof SAR looks like it has driven straight out of a golden era of Australasian trucking. It turns heads everywhere it goes because it gets the fundamentals exactly right – long bonnet, classic lines, proper stance, and manual gearbox.

For owner Grant Sumner, this truck represents 45 years in the transport industry, a lifetime spent behind the wheel, building relationships, growing a business, and staying true to the kind of trucking he’s always loved. And perhaps fittingly, the truck itself reflects the man who ordered it, understated (ahem), hardworking, traditional and built to last.

Raised in Dargaville, Sumner entered the industry at just 16 years old after obtaining an underage licence and starting work with North Line Freights.

“That’s all I’ve ever done since then,” Grant says matter-of-factly. It is a simple sentence that somehow manages to sum up nearly half a century in transport.

Over the years he worked his way through the industry, including a significant stint as an owner-driver with NZL Group and drove with Roydon’s Transport. Those years provided the foundation for what would eventually become his own operation.

Today, Grant runs a seven-truck fleet specialising in precast concrete and structural steel transport. It is very much a family-style operation, what he describes as a “mum-and-dad business”, but one with a strong reputation and a loyal customer base.

Around half the company’s work comes from Busck Prestressed Concrete, with trucks regularly travelling between Auckland, Tauranga and Wellington depending on contracts and customer requirements.

The fleet itself reflects Sumner’s long-standing appreciation for traditional heavy metal. Alongside the Legend SAR are two other Kenworths, two Mack Super-Liners and a pair of Mack Tridents. But even among that line-up, the 50th Anniversary SAR stands apart.

The arrival of the Legend SAR marked a major milestone for Grant personally and professionally. Despite decades in transport and years of fleet ownership, the SAR was the first brand-new Kenworth he had ever purchased.

“There was a couple of years waiting for it,” Grant recalls, and the anticipation only added to the significance of the purchase. This was not an impulse buy or simply another fleet replacement. It was the realisation of a long-held ambition.

He believes his 101 truck was possibly the third Legend SAR to land in New Zealand, but more significantly, it is a flat-roof sleeper, one of only a handful nationwide. Grant deliberately chose the flat-roof version to capture the classic Australian look of the 1980s. And he nailed it.

From a distance, the truck has the silhouette of an old-school highway hauler, the kind of rig that defined an era when Australian and New Zealand trucking culture shared an unmistakable visual identity.

“It’s got that traditional Aussie look,” Grant says proudly. “It’s relatively a basic truck in today’s terms.”

With its Meritor running gear and Hendrickson Primaax rear suspension, the truck harks back to a period Sumner considers trucking’s heyday, tough, mechanical and uncomplicated.

While the Legend SAR attracts attention everywhere it goes, it is not a pampered garage queen. It works for a living.

Behind the wheel most days is long-serving driver Dave Smith, who has been with Sumner Haulage for around a decade. Giving Dave the keys to the new SAR was both a practical decision and recognition for years of service.

“My long-serving guys, as I replace their trucks, they get the new ones,” says Grant.

Having spent years driving an older Kenworth that had accumulated nearly two million kilometres, Dave’s move into the brand-new SAR Legend was a significant step up. One condition mattered though, it had to be manual.

That preference shaped the final specification and perfectly suits Dave’s old-school driving style. For him, shifting gears manually remains part of what trucking is all about.

Based in Whangarei, Smith has been driving trucks since he was 18 and has extensive experience across a wide range of combinations and equipment. The transition from a large cabover Aerodyne to the bonneted SAR brought some obvious differences, but none that troubled him.

Despite the long nose, he says visibility is surprisingly good thanks to the sloping bonnet design. “The forward vision is actually really good,” Dave says.

Performance has impressed him just as much. Compared with his previous truck, the Legend SAR handles hills effortlessly and holds higher gears with ease, giving it a noticeably stronger feel on the road.

Inside the cab, the truck combines old-school character with modern comfort. Dave appreciates the styling touches that deliberately reference earlier generations of Kenworths. Details such as the under-dash window switches may seem dated by modern standards, but ‘they add personality’ rather than frustration. The sleeper has also proven itself on long-distance runs.

With around 190,000 kilometres already on the odometer, Dave still considers the truck barely broken in. “Hardly run in yet.” he claims, but seems more than happy to clock up the kms.

Dave says that wherever the SAR goes, people notice it. “Compliments come over the CB radio. Drivers wave from passing trucks. Members of the public stop to take photos at fuel stops and rest areas,” he says.

Part of the appeal lies in its rarity, but much of it comes down to authenticity. The truck looks like a genuine continuation of classic heavy-haulage culture. Its appearance at the Kenworth 100 celebrations further elevated its profile, drawing admiration from enthusiasts and industry veterans alike.

And while the SAR Legend may be his pride and joy, Grant Sumner is realistic about what it represents financially as well. He believes the Legend SAR will hold its value due to its limited numbers and unique specification. In that sense, it is both a working asset and a long-term investment.

For Dave Smith, the SAR is more than just another company truck too. He treats it with enormous pride, maintaining it meticulously and caring for it as though it were his own.

That attitude comes naturally to someone with a deep appreciation for classic machinery. Away from trucking, he is heavily involved in hot rods and vintage vehicles.

Dave says the truck represents a bridge between generations, modern enough to perform today’s demanding transport tasks, yet traditional enough to remind drivers why they fell in love with trucking in the first place.

Spend a few minutes talking with Grant Sumner and it quickly becomes obvious that the Legend SAR is not about ego or image, it’s about achievement. The truck stands as a reward for decades of hard work, long hours and persistence in one of the country’s toughest industries.

It reflects the journey from a 16-year-old kid driving for North Line Freights to the owner of a respected transport business moving specialised freight throughout New Zealand. And perhaps most importantly, it reflects a deep respect for trucking heritage at a time when much of the industry is rapidly changing.