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CONVEN TIONAL IT’S ONLY FITTING THAT THE FINAL WORD OF THE 2016 TRUCK LAUNCH SEASON BELONGED TO THE OEM WITH THE MOST VOCAL FAN BASE. WITH THE NEW T610 RANGE, LOCAL JUGGERNAUT KENWORTH IS HOPING TO FIGHT OFF AN INCREASINGLY CONFIDENT EUROPEAN COMPETITION. Story by Sebastian Grote and Peter Shields
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t goes to show just how well regarded Kenworth is in the Australian transport and logistics community that it was able to schedule a launch event on a sunny Saturday afternoon in the lead-up to Christmas and still convince the who’s who of the industry to make the journey to Melbourne – even without specifying which new model would actually be on show. Despite – or maybe because of – the secret-mongering around the launch, several hundred hand-selected guests gathered in Melbourne on the first weekend of summer to witness the grand unveiling of the first new Kenworth model since the MX-13-equipped T409 in 2014 – the T610. The result of almost a decade of 46
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development, more than 100,000 hours of local design work and some 10 million kilometres of testing and validation, Kenworth’s new heavy-duty model is arguably the brand’s most ambitious project to date: Walking the line between traditional design and high technology, it’s short enough to fit into Australia’s 26m B-double envelope and thus able to go head-to-head with the increasingly bullish European cab-over faction – all while retaining that distinct North American spirit Australian trucking is so fond of. And, it doesn’t come a minute to soon: During Q4’16 alone, both MAN and Mercedes-Benz unveiled a new heavyduty model to challenge Kenworth’s longstanding market hegemony, and Scania is p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u
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FAST FACT The T610 cabin is mostly constructed of stamped aluminium and can boast new, triple-sealed doors and door apertures to minimise noise and dust leaks. The solid-feeling exterior door handles allow for large or gloved hands, while internal grab handles facilitate three points of contact for safe entry and exit. The mirrors are mounted low on the cab to reduce any compromise to vision. 48
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busy working on the Australian roll-out of a new flagship model, too. Rival Volvo, meanwhile, has been able to grow its market share by close to nine per cent in 2016, while Kenworth’s shrunk slightly. Interestingly, though, the Bayswater-based OEM didn’t just update an existing model in response to the European arms race, but seemingly created a whole new subcategory in the heavy-duty space – the modern conventional. After all, the T610 will appeal to the heart of the Australian truckie while also ticking all of the boxes around safety, efficiency and integrated driveline that transport businesses are looking for in 2017. As such, the T610 is not just a response to the advent of modern electronics and safety technologies as seen in Europe, or the industry’s need for more productivity and data capture, but also a strong statement pro bonneted design and a first
test of how Paccar Australia can make use of the Paccar Group’s increasingly unified global parts catalogue in the future. Getting the brand’s vast, yet somewhat conservative, fan base to buy into the new strategy – especially the automotiveinspired ‘toolbox approach’ – will be crucial from here, which is why Brad May, Paccar Australia’s Director of Sales and Marketing, doesn’t get tired of pointing out that the T610 is meant to represent “everything a Kenworth should be in terms of durability, reliability and safety” and that it will continue to be built locally in Melbourne. In a move to preserve the brand’s nimbus of extreme durability and easy repairability, Kenworth opted to retain the tried and proven chassis of the T409 – which it will replace – and focused on re-thinking the superstructure instead. “The core of this project was about
FAST FACT The T610 and T610 SAR will officially replace the T409 and T409 SAR models, but experts also expect them to replace the T609 down the track. What’s more, the narrower cab T409 will likely remain available for some time when specified with the 13-litre Paccar MX13 engine.
building a bigger cab, but it’s really about creating the ultimate driver environment,” Brad explains. “A good driver environment leads to better all-round driving performance, safety, efficiency and productivity.” The all-new cab is based on the T680 model sold in the US, but had to be substantially modified to make it more suitable for the hotly contested Australian line-haul market: Kenworth not only pushed it some 300mm forward over the engine to meet the country’s stringent length laws, but also re-designed all fittings, seals and panels to suit the local climate. Even the front grille was ‘Australianised’ – it retained the same shape, but is now made from stainless steel by a local business from Melbourne. What’s more, the cab has been lifted to provide the dual benefit of a flatter floor and better airflow around the engine.
The original width of 2.1m remained the same, though, making the T610 almost 300mm wider than the outgoing T409 equivalent. “The result is a mix of additional foot space, more standing room and storage, wider walkthrough access between the seats and more expansive door and windscreen glass – providing space, visibility and ergonomics never before seen in an Australian Kenworth,” Brad says – adding that the extra space has facilitated the use of a direct steering shaft that clears the turbocharger and does away with the need for extra universal or CV joints, which is likely to improve the T610’s road feel. A comprehensive heat shield is fitted to the firewall to deflect turbo heat from the cabin area. To ensure each element would work perfectly in every possible Australian setting, Kenworth’s Engineering Project p r i m em over m a g . c o m . a u
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FAST FACT Equipped with the 36-inch (860mm) sleeper, the T610 achieves a bumperto-back-of-cab (BBC) rating of 146 inches (3,705mm). In the forward axle SAR day cab, it will stretch out 112 inches (2,860mm), which is four inches less than the current T409 of the same configuration.
Design Manager, Ross Cureton, says the testing benchmark for the T610 has been elevated to a whole new level. “The T610 has been tested three times more than any Australian Kenworth truck that’s gone before it,” he explains. “Every Kenworth truck would normally run on a standard, 60-day shake test program, where the physical cab is mounted on a simulation machine, as if driving on its chassis, to see if it survives. We put the T610 cab through three of these cycles, which act as if it were being subjected to the vibrations and forces of the worst-case road conditions found in Australia.” Ross says despite the multiple, at times violent, simulations, the new cab passed with flying colours. “I’ve been at Kenworth for 23 years and the T610 shake test has proven it to be the most durable cab we’ve ever tested, and we wouldn’t want it to be any less, given the Australian market and our collective expectations.” At the heart of the new cab is a new, automotive quality dashboard, which is not only twice as thick as the US equivalent – and sourced locally in Melbourne – but also arranged around a special steel bar sub-structure to ensure it can cope with the tough environment here in Australia. With improved access to the air conditioning (HVAC) system and tool-free access to electrical circuit protection, plus visually apparent fasteners in the dash to assist further access if required, it was optimised to keep servicing simple, even in the digital age.
Under the fibreglass bonnet, the new T610 will be powered by Cummins’ X15 Euro V engine with Advanced Dynamic Efficient Powertrain (ADEPT) technology – Cummins’ attempt at summarising the growing suite of electronic features that interact with the optional Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) and dynamically adapt to operating conditions to enhance fuel economy “with no impact to productivity”. The X15 will be available from 450hp all of the way up to 600hp in all models and boast an improved cooling package. Also on the technology front, the T610 will be available with state-of-the-art collision avoidance and mitigation technology, “including active cruise with braking and lane departure warning working in harmony to take safety to the next level,”, as Ross puts it – a feature that should bring the T610 on par with the comprehensively equipped European competition. The new model’s real point of difference, however, will likely lie in the design’s inherent versatility: The T610, which will again be offered with a set forward front axle (SAR), will be available with either a day cab or a 860mm sleeper version to make it suitable for virtually any application – including maximum payload 26m B-double work (see Expert’s View). As such, Kenworth’s attempt at creating a whole new subcategory in the heavy-duty segment may just work out – making the T610 as much of a logical evolution of the T409 series as a revolutionary development for the market at large.
EXPERT’S VIEW The T610 brings with it an extensive range of versatility that will allow it to compete across a broader area of applications than perhaps any other truck currently on the Australian market. Especially with the 600hp Cummins engine, the T610 will fit straight into the 26m B-double market for operators looking for a conventional cab with a 34-inch sleeper that is able to comfortably handle interstate hauls. Its optional 140-tonne GVM rating will also appeal to those pulling road trains or B-triples, making it even more versatile. Meanwhile, the T610 SAR with the set forward front axle will be a serious player in 19m B-double market, and the day cab versions will be at home in the infrastructure boom-led tipper-and-dog set ups, competing with other conventional trucks such as Mack Trident, Western Star 4800 and the International ProStar, which is scheduled to be available later in 2017. But it doesn’t end here: The T610’s bumper-to-back-of-cabin (BBC) dimension is four-inch shorter than in the past, which will make it attractive for the booming PBS market. The 15-litre, 600hp Cummins provides the T610 with a power advantage over the Mack Trident (535hp with Mack’s own MP8 engine) and the Freightliner Coronado 114 (560hp with a Detroit Diesel engine). As such, the T610 has to be viewed as the most important Kenworth development in decades – and perhaps also validates Freightliner currently making a nine-figure investment in a right-hand Cascadia, which will soon come to Australia. Peter Shields, Senior Technical Writer 50
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