Design: Freightliner trucks with a radial engine

March 15, 2012

Design competition organized by Freightliner company almost came to an end - the results will be announced on 22th March, and we will get back to this after that. Now, I want to show you an interesting project, which unfortunately missed the top three finalists. It was created by the American designer Karan Moorjani. The designer decided to return the aircraft motives of the 60es to future design of US trucks. He calls the truck as 'Road Plane' and the driver as 'Road Pilot'. So what is in this truck from aircraft? Of course the design with smooth lines is similar to a fuselage of an aircraft. But the most important thing is a six beam radial engine, like a military propeller aircrafts of WWII. The engine is positioned horizontally between the axes of the truck. Grille design also uses a radial aircraft engine style. As a result, the exterior has turned a very unique and original, but technically the project has no perspective - it will be extremely difficult to design such an engine and properly install it in the truck.

http://www.behance.net

Jack Smith

2012-03-16 04:09:47

This is not a new concept. In the early 1950's, Mack Trucks was chosen by the U.S. Army to design a new range of 5-ton trucks. In 1953, two prototypes were built. Both had aluminum cabs, but one had an aluminum cargo body while the other with a steel cargo body. The 5-ton Mack 6x6 prototypes were equipped with 250hp 8-cylinder Continental OA536-1 aircraft engines. The transmissions were Allison TT270s. Sloped tilting hoods provided superb visibility. Tires were 14.00x20. Unfortunately, only 2 of these advanced trucks were built, as the U.S. Army chose instead to purchase the more conventional M54 series. They were built by several manufacturers including Mack, but only the Mack-prroduced M54s had Mack ENDT673 diesel engines.
Karan Moorjani

2013-01-30 13:08:31

Never claimed this was a 'NEW' application of this technology. The idea was to uplift the image of the trucker. The title 'ROAD PILOT' gives the trucker a sense of pride and a level of importance. It was to make this line of work more desirable and it had done so. Daimler recognized that. This is a student project intended to be purely conceptual in both thought and execution. Its an image fix. The radial engine is the crown jewel of this design (no previous truck had displayed in such a manner) and its presence is essential to create the image of 'ROAD PLANE' operated by 'ROAD PILOT' rather than truck and truck driver. That is a 'NEW CONCEPT'
Regards,
Karan Moorjani
Karan Moorjani

2013-01-30 13:09:14

P.S. I'd like to ask who posted this. Thanks

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