The 379, Once the Largest Peterbilt Class 8 Truck, Could Turn Into an Amazing Desk Decor

The Class 8 is where the big boys of the heavy-duty truck world play in, the ones capable of hauling up to 80,000 pounds (over 36,000 kg) of cargo thanks to a powerful pairing of a tractor and a trailer that make for a combined set of no less than 18 wheels at times.

Because there is absolutely no one doing business in this world that isn't in need of their products being moved, there are plenty of Class 8 trucks around. The most famous (and widespread) of them all are made by Autocar, Volvo, Kentworth, and more recently even Tesla.

Few of these beasts of the highway are however as famous as the ones wearing the Peterbilt logo. The name dates back to 1939, when another company called Fageol Truck and Motor Company had to die for it to be born, and it has been at the forefront of truckmaking ever since.

Based in Texas, this industrial behemoth, now owned by Pacific Car & Foundry (PACCAR), has become so quintessential for the American way of life that its products are not only used to haul cargo, but are also at the core of more insane human activities like drag racing and customization.

There are several famous Peterbilt trucks made over the years, but few of them have the appeal and glamour of something called the 379. And for good reason, as at the time of its introduction, in 1987, it was the largest highway truck ever made by the company.

And it was also one very capable beast, employing a variety of very powerful engines, made by the great names of the industry, namely Caterpillar, Cummins, and Detroit Diesel. Peterbilt made it in two configurations, with bumper to back of cab lengths of 119 inches and 127 inches with an extended hood, respectively.

Technically speaking, the conventional cab truck was not all that different than what the other Peterbilts had to offer, at least in terms of design. It shared the cab structure with the 579 and 587, and the doors with the 362 and 372. Visually, it differed from the truck it replaced only through the use of a larger windshield and headlamp-mounted turn signals.

Introduced as the successor of the previous 359, it became the flagship of the company's lineup and a real hit among drivers who both owned and operated their own rigs. Because of this, they quickly became the backbone of the custom truck industry, and rose to a sort of cult status most Class 8s never hope to reach.

So successful was the model that when it was retired in 2007, being replaced by the 389, it had to sing its final song as a special edition of 1,000 units that collectively became known as the Legacy Class 379.

For all its merits, though, the Peterbilt 379 is not at all very celebrated in the toy industry, like some other famous vehicles are. LEGO, for instance, doesn't have a single Peterbilt product in its portfolio, not even the 379, although I personally feel they could be quite successful.

And so do other people, with one of them going as far as submitting a design on LEGO Ideas that, if enough backers line up behind it, might just enter production.

LEGO Ideas is the place where everyone with the slightest talent in assembling tiny plastic bricks in shapes that mean something get a chance at having their designs go on the assembly lines. All such an idea has to do is gather 10,000 votes, and LEGO will bow to the public's wishes.

The LEGO Peterbilt 379 was submitted by a user going by the handle Ing-Manuel, and it's a true beauty. It comes together after no less than 2,999 pieces have been assembled in the proper fashion, resulting in a truck that's tiny by real-world standards, but quite large by LEGO ones.

The truck measures 25 inches (63 cm) in length, nine inches (23 cm) in width, and 11 inches (28 cm) in height. When done right, it results in a truck cab with functioning doors and hood, working steering, and even a model of a six-cylinder diesel engine under the hood.

The thing comes with no trailer, obviously, as those are always a matter of choice among real truckers, and doesn't ship with the tractor vehicle.

At the time of writing the LEGO Peterbilt 379 is still far from reaching its goal, but there's plenty of time left for that to happen: 2,117 people have pledged support for it, and there are 539 left for the design to draw in the remaining number to reach the next stage in the voting process, 5,000 backers.