INDIANAPOLIS—Kenworth recently launched a newly designed hood option for the T880 with a set-forward front axle configuration at the NTEA Work Truck Week 2025. The T880S performance hood offers durability, new styling features, and enhanced compatibility with high-horsepower engines, making it the "ideal" choice for heavy haul, logging, high-horsepower stationery and other vocational applications, Kenworth said.
With increased length and a larger cooling package, compared to the current T880S and T880 hood types, the T880S performance hood is the first T880 to offer compatibility with the Cummins X15 engine rated up to 605 hp and 2,050 lb.-ft. of torque in high-GCWR applications. The T880S is standard with Paccar’s MX-13 engine. To support engine performance in all operating environments, the cooling module has been increased in size to 1,440 square inches and airflow optimized to maximize cooling efficiency.
The T880S performance hood features a 121.7-in. BBC and a 31.5-in. bumper setting with a standard bumper, helping to optimize weight distribution and bridge law compliance. Compared to a T880 with a set-back front axle, the new hood allows for a 16-in. increase in axle spread/outer bridge for a similar overall length. The introduction of this new hood rounds out the T880 model lineup to offer four application-specific hood configurations that make the T880 the most job-appropriate truck in every application: T880, T880 MX-optimized hood, T880S MX-optimized hood, and now T880S performance hood.
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“For our customers that require maximum truck power for their operation or those seeking more powertrain options for the T880S, this hood allows for more customers to utilize the T880S in new ways,” Kyle Kimball, Kenworth director of marketing, said. “The T880S is the favored configuration for customers in ready-mix, dump, and other applications where staying compliant with bridge-formula laws is a concern. By allowing more powertrain options for the T880S performance hood, customers with the highest power or payload demands can take advantage while still maintaining excellent visibility with the sloped hood design.”
The new signature Kenworth design features for the T880S performance hood include a durable aluminum mesh grille in a polished or black finish, a newly styled stainless steel grille surround, stainless steel fender closeout panels, and air intake spears finished in chrome or black to complete the rugged look while offering functional performance. To enhance durability, the hood is constructed with Metton material, a tested and proven material for heavy vocational applications. The hood shares the same convenient five-piece construction as all other T880 models for faster, more economical repairs in the event of crash damage.
