The Dodge Tomahawk is a non-street-legal vehicle that Dodge introduced in 2004 at the North American International Auto Show as a one-off concept, and later that year DaimlerChrysler announced it would sell hand-built reproductions to order. It drew wide attention for its striking design, its outsize 10-cylinder car engine and its four close-coupled wheels, which give it a motorcycle-like appearance.
Dodge Tomahawk at a glance
| Introduced | 2004 North American International Auto Show |
|---|---|
| Class | concept vehicle, not street legal |
| Engine | 8.3 L Viper V10 SRT10, 500 hp |
| Wheels | four, two front and two rear, independently sprung |
| Suspension | patented swingarm design allowing the wheels to lean |
| Claimed top speed | 300 to 420 mph, never independently tested |
| Internal testing | never ridden above 100 mph |
| Price | 555,000 dollars through the Neiman Marcus catalogue |
| Sold | as many as nine thought to have been sold |
| Status | sold as automotive sculpture for display |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Dodge Tomahawk.
History of the Dodge Tomahawk
Experts disagreed on whether the Tomahawk is a true motorcycle. Its retro-Art Deco design centres on the 500 hp 8.3-litre V10 SRT10 engine from the Dodge Viper, and its two front and two rear wheels are independently sprung so that it can lean into corners and countersteer like a motorcycle. The idea came from two lower-level Chrysler employees, design office modeler and motorcycle rider Bob Schroeder and vehicle build specialist and drag racer Dave Chyz, who asked what a Viper engine in a Champion chassis would look like, in the spirit of the Boss Hoss. Senior vice president of design Trevor Creed first said the company did not build bikes, but the sketches were strong enough to win him over, and the project reached Freeman Thomas, DaimlerChrysler’s vice president of advanced design, who assigned designer Mark Walters.
Thomas suggested two front and two rear wheels because a single wheel would look thin beside the unusually wide engine, inspired by the four-wheeled light cycles in the film Tron. Walters expected complaints from motorcyclists that this would make it not a motorcycle, but felt uniqueness mattered more. By spring 2002 he had prepared a full-scale presentation with sketches along a 20-foot wall and a borrowed Viper engine on a stand with two wheels fore and aft, which won immediate approval from Chrysler Group COO Wolfgang Bernhard and CEO Dieter Zetsche. The design and fabrication took six months, with engineering and construction outsourced to RM Motorsports of Wixom, Michigan; Kirt Bennett at RM turned Walters’ sketches into a mechanically sound vehicle with a new patented front and rear swingarm suspension that lets both parallel wheels lean together and keep all four on the ground.
The V10 needed changes to sit low: the lubrication system went from wet sump to dry sump with the oil tank in front of and to the left of the engine, and the single front radiator became two smaller radiators in the V-shaped space above the engine, fed by a belt-driven fan from a Porsche 911. Dodge press releases quoted hypothetical top speeds from 300 to as high as 420 mph, which analysts thought were calculated from horsepower and final drive ratio alone without drag, rolling resistance or stability; the media called them implausible or physically impossible. No independent road tests were ever published, and the company said that in internal testing the Tomahawk was never ridden above 100 mph.
The Tomahawk was sold through the Neiman Marcus catalogue at 555,000 dollars, and as many as nine are thought to have been sold. Since the vehicle was not street legal, Dodge described the reproductions as automotive sculpture, intended for display only and not fully operational. Industry observers called the Tomahawk a success at taking the trade show spotlight, a branding coup that sent the message that Chrysler was bold and unafraid of risk.
Design and features
- Viper V10: the 8.3-litre, 500 hp engine from the Dodge Viper.
- Four wheels: two front and two rear, independently sprung and able to lean.
- Patented suspension: a swingarm layout that keeps all four wheels on the ground.
- Display only: not street legal, sold through Neiman Marcus as sculpture.
Dodge Tomahawk versions
- Tomahawk concept (2003): the original one-off show vehicle.
- Hand-built reproductions (2004): up to nine cars sold to order.
The Tomahawk used the engine of the Dodge Viper and belongs with the other Dodge show cars such as the Dodge Copperhead. More Dodge models are in the Dodge collection.
Sources
- Dodge Tomahawk, English Wikipedia: concept, design, engine, speed claims, sales
