The Design of a Sterling Heavy Truck for the Pike's Peak International Hillclimb

Late in 1999, Freightliner LLC commissioned a group to design and assemble a Sterling heavy truck for the 2000 Pike's Peak International Hillclimb. Many design and engineering innovations were necessary in order to optimize the total package for vehicle performance.

Addressed will be the design and analysis used in optimizing the chassis/roll cage assembly for maximum torsional stiffness. Overall vehicle packaging for obtaining the vehicle weight and center-of-gravity location will be presented. Design details will be discussed for the truck-based front and rear suspensions, the special tire characteristics, the high performance powertrain, the rear axles, the cooling module and the rack and pinion steering.