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The use of aluminium cast components as the uprights is as old as racing; nevertheless this traditional technology is still a standard on budget racing cars, where the advantages of a steel sheet, welded upright are simply not affordable. It is very well known that cast uprights allow for savings in the case of large production numbers (where “large” should be intended relatively to the racing world). The upright is the component which links the wheel and brake to the rest of the suspension. Being subjected to all the road loads and part of the unsprung mass, it is a fairly critical component. Any failure can lead to an accident; also, it must be as stiff and light as possible for better suspension performance hence roadholding. The paper describes the design of a small single-seater cast upright from the drafting phase to FEM computation to experimental testing. It is a case study rather than an innovative project, but it could be a reference for those involved in a similar design.

The time of the “magic touch” approach to race car design is nearly over, and modern engineering techniques are more and more employed in high-level racing. Finite Element Analysis, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Vehicle Dynamics are some of the computer-aided methods which are being successfully applied to improve engine performance, aerodynamics, structural effectiveness and driveability. People at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Brescia have been working on chassis and suspension modeling in co-operation with racing and sports car makers and leading-edge teams since 1989. Current research partners are the FIAT Research Centre (CRF), Dallara Racing Cars, the Scuderia Italia Touring Car Team, and others.