LAS VEGAS — One of the worst kept secrets in the trucking industry was officially shared with the world Sunday in Vegas when Caterpillar unveiled its heavy duty truck — the CT660.

On the eve of the Conexpo-Con/Agg construction industry conference and in front of dozens of trade press from around the world, Caterpillar staged a Vegas-style son-et-lumiere show to open the curtain on a surprisingly bright fire engine red CT660. (Cat products — tractors, engines and other heavy equipment — are known for being mustard yellow.)

As Cat’s director of Global On-Highway Truck Group George Taylor told the audience, "customers need trucks in colors other than yellow, as hard as it was to convince us."

The truck will be sold exclusively through Cat’s North American dealer network.  

The truck, which appears quite distinct from the Navistar PayStar it’s based on, provides a variety of custom offerings for dump, refuse, mixer and other heavy vocational applications.

Taylor said that the company has already established contact with about 70 percent of their market because purchasers of these vocational trucks are usually in construction or similar businesses so they’re already familiar with Cat heavy-duty products.

So although the CT660 project has been in development for the past three years, Taylor says, "our customers already have this truck."

Cat will start taking orders for a set-back axle CT660 in April and expect the first units will be at work by summer.

Cat says this is only the first of a line of Cat trucks. The next version will be the CT680, a set-forward-axle version of this truck, which will be available in 2013.

The CT660 comes with either 116-in or 122-in. bbc configurations. It’s built with an aluminum-alloy cab.

Cat’s first road truck will come
in more colors than the HD equipment
maker’s trademark mustard yellow.

Power will come from, as expected, a Cat-branded CT11 or CT13, and eventually the CT15, Advanced EGR diesels (heavily based on Navistar’s MaxxForce engines) with horsepower ratings from 330 to 550 and peak torque ratings from 1,450 to 1,850 lb.-ft.

A new "compact graphite" engine block reduces as much as 500 pounds compared with conventional all-iron designs.

Cat will offer a range of transmissions, including its fully automatic CX31 with six forward speeds and one reverse.

With fuel efficiency the name of the game these days, a characteristic aerodynamically sloped hood increases visibility for the driver and decreases wind drag.

From behind the wheel, it’s clear Cat took a modern, perhaps over-the-road approach, to vocational styling, accentuating cab spacing and comfort to reduce driver fatigue and stress and increase productivity.

For more specs, click here.