High on the hog

International’s Harley-Davidson edition LoneStar blends two-wheeler styling with comfortable, high-efficiency tractor.

International’s LoneStar demands lots of attention with its bold shape and unusual retro grille, but the Harley-Davidson Special Edition is likely to get even more.

The LoneStar Harley-Davidson Special Edition sports production Harley-Davidson motorcycle headlamps. Its grille differs from the standard LoneStar’s and has only horizontal crossbars, a design patterned after the grille on a 1930s International pickup.

“Producing the Harley-Davidson Special Edition was the job of a lifetime,” says Special Edition Program Manager Brad Holloway. The Harley co-designers “had a very high sense of detail, yet did not want you to be overwhelmed with a truck that screamed Harley-Davidson at you.” That subtlety is evident, for example, in the decision to put 13 seams in the cushion in the sleeper, intended to reflect the 13 letters in International.

Many features were patterned after custom trucks, Holloway says, including the hooded gauge bezels on the dashboard. He describes such touches as “hot rod stuff in a production vehicle.” In spite of the focus on appearance, the design also had to meet stringent International ergonomic standards. Thus the handsome, hollow chrome shift lever is bent to a critical angle for easier shifting.

Mark Wolford, program manager for the LoneStar, says the truck was conceived with three design goals: “Be original, design the truck so you would own the road, and create a truck that would make you money.”

Chris Hawker bought the second LoneStar Harley-Davidson Special Edition tractor, shown here at the Harley-Davidson plant in Milwaukee.

This meant producing a truck that was designed like no other and did not look like any other. It meant it had to ride and handle extraordinarily well, a design task that requires not only exotic features like air suspension on all three axles but ideal compromises between ride smoothness and stability in corners. It meant that its aerodynamics had to contribute to top fuel economy.