The CT680L, in front, and the CT680LG in the back.Caterpillar unveiled May 14 two new trucks, the Cat CT680L and the Cat CT680LG — the equipment maker’s newest iterations in its four-year-old line of CT trucks. Both offer a stark departure from its predecessors, however, from a design standpoint.
And that’s no accident.
Customers were asking for it, says Dave Schultz, vocational truck product manager. Many owner-operators and fleets think a truck’s looks should reflect pride of ownership and reinforce a companies brand, Schultz says.
So Cat created two versions that aim to be more eye-catching than the industrial look of the CT681.
The interior of the CT680LG.The CT680L comes to the dance with a good deal of flash: a three-piece Metton hood, three-piece chrome bumper, three-piece chrome stainless steel grill surround, composite halogen headlights and incandescent parking and turn lights.
The more subdued CT680LG sports a one piece fiberglass hood, three-piece black bumper, integrated fiberglass grille surround, sealed beam halogen headlights and LED parking and turn lights.
The CT680 base chassis, on which both the LG and L versions are built, is set forward with a 124-inch BBC, which makes it Cat’s longest truck by 10 inches. Combined with parabolic taper leaf suspension the far-forward front axle and long wheel base improve driver comfort levels especially for all day driving.
The new trucks are also available in both tractor and truck configurations, and a glider kit is expected in mid-July. A Cat CT series 13-liter vocational truck engine with dual sequential turbochargers powers the CT680. Horsepower ratings run from 410 hp to 475 hp at 1,700 rpm. Torque peak at 1,000 rpm cranks from 1,450 foot pounds to 1,700 foot pounds. Shultz says the availability of a 15-liter engine will be announced later this year. Dual air cleaners on the outside keep the engine from choking on the dust common to many construction sites.
