Kenworth’s T680 is a truck built for drivers who love trucks.

When I first clapped eyes on Kenworth’s T680 at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, my first impression was been there, done that. From a distance, it looked much like the T700, which first saw the light of day in 2010. I wondered why Kenworth would be revamping that truck so soon.

What can I say; it was a first impression. The T680 is anything but a rehash of the T700. It does bear some outward similarity, but aerodynamics are what they are. Anything but what you see would be a compromise, and it’s clear Kenworth compromised very little in the design and development of this truck.

Practically everything north of the frame rails is new — clean-slate new. From the stamped aluminum cab to the Diamond VIT upholstery, no stone was left unturned.

At its official unveiling, Kenworth General Manager, Gary Moore, said the company had invested $400 million over four years bringing this truck to market. If the guided tour and the short test drive I had in Louisville are any indication, I’d say the company got its money’s worth with this one.

The Finer Points

Kenworth invited a few of the A-list truck writers out for an up close and personal tour of the truck with director of product planning, Jim Bechtold. He took us through the design features of the T680, sharing some of the anecdotes of the design process as well as the nuts and bolts of the final product.

The biggest news is the cab itself. A first for Kenworth, this one is made of stamped aluminum. It’s highly tooled for greater manufacturing consistency, and held together with self-piercing Henrob fasteners. To make sure they got it right, Kenworth enlisted the design and build expertise of Magna International, one of North America’s largest automotive supplier with a great deal of auto industry know-how in stamped aluminum designs.

While it may seem like a small item, Bechtold says they are quite proud of the new door design. Not only does it open wider and close with less effort than past designs, its hinges are an in-swing design, rather than a traditional piano hinge design.

“The in-swing door gave us more latitude in hinge placement,” Bechtold says. “We were able to optimize the fit of the door, adding strength to the assembly, and making it virtually air tight.”

In fact, the cab is fitted with pressure relief devises to make opening and closing the door physically easier—and easier on the eardrums as well.

The A-pillar is steeply raked to improve airflow over the cab, and the windshield — 50 percent larger than other Kenworth models — is dramatically curved to move air around the cab as well as over the top. Bechtold says the curve of the glass is as much as supplier Pilkington could put into a windshield. The glass is thicker than traditional windshield glass, Bechtold says, to minimize damage from rock strikes, etc. On the upside, he told us that thanks to a new adhesive, replacement takes a fraction of time (about two hours) of other bonded windshields, so downtime won’t be as much of a concern.