Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/70194
FAMILY ADDITION The Kenworth T680 draws upon T660 and T700 designs, but still has its own spacious fl air by STEVE STURGESS he number says it all. Kenworth's new and best-kept secret T680 falls midway between the T660 and the year-ago-launched T700. The 660 has the traditional, narrow KW cab at 75 inches, the T700 has the 90-inch cab out to the full width allowed by regulation. The T680 falls in the middle with an 83-inch-wide cab. The T680 launched at the recent Mid- America Trucking Show. Sister-brand Peterbilt shares the basic cab construction in its corresponding 579, also launched at the show. Both are highly tooled stamped 26 | TRUCKERS NEWS | JULY 2012 aluminum structures with complex panels joined by Henrob fasteners to create a rigid aluminum cab structure. The rivets are blind and no heads stand out on the smooth cab surface except at the rear corners. This was a deliberate move to aid repairs there when drivers cut too tight and hit the trailer. In this, the T680 again falls between the T660 with its largely exposed Huck-bolt rivets and the smooth aerospace bonded structure that is underneath the sleek panels of the T700. And in the same way as the T700 picked up strong styl- ing cues from the T660, the new 680 is clearly recogniz- able as being from the same family DNA.