The Dodge Tomahawk Concept Motorcycle

The Tomahawk is a Viper V-10 based motorcycle, a 500 horsepower engine with four wheels beneath it. The engine breathes through twin throttle bodies mounted right up front. (That's what the two round things above the front tires are).

Chrysler sold nine replicas through Neiman Marcus, for $555,000 each. The motorcycles cannot be driven on public roads. A spokesman told Reuters they were meant as rolling sculptures, presumably to avoid legal liability. They are apparently driveable - just not (legally) on public roads.

The rear wheel drive machine uses monocoque construction; the engine is a stressed member. The body is made of billet aluminum.

The Tomahawk concept is an awesome-sounding machine; we saw it started and revved. Clouds of blue smoke vied for attention with the throaty rumble of the mighty V-10, and hitting the gas visibly opened the twin throttle body blades up front where the headlight would normally be. Though deeper and more rumbling than most motorcycles, it did not seem to be louder overall - just deeper, with no shrill overtones.

Wolfgang Bernhard, Chrysler's first mate at the time, was said to be enthusiastic about that project, so much so that hundreds were projected to be built at under $200,000 each (probably below breakeven). They reportedly cost Chrysler over $100,000 to build (the work is outsourced), not including engineering costs.

The Dodge Tomahawk can reach 60 miles an hour in about 2.5 seconds, and has a theoretical top speed of nearly 400 mph. Each pair of wheels is separated by a few inches and each wheel has an independent suspension. Bernhard said four wheels were necessary to handle the power from the engine.

The Tomahawk remains on display at auto shows - well out of reach of the general public. 

Electrical

Alternator: 136-amp high-speed
Battery: Leak-resistant, maintenance-free 600 CCA
Lighting: Headlights consist of 12 five-watt LEDs, front, with beam-modifying optics and masked lenses. Eight LEDs, rear. Headlamps articulate with wheels.

Transmission

Manual, foot-shifted, aluminum-cased two-speed, sequential racing-style with dog ring, straight-cut gears
Gear Ratios: 1st 18:38; 2nd 23:25
Clutch: Double-disc, dry-plate with organic friction materials, hand lever actuated with assist
Final drive: Dual 110-link motorcycle-style chains

Front Sprockets: 14 teeth
Rear Sprockets: 35 teeth

Steering

Dual-hub center type steering. Linkage uses rocker arm and push/pull rod with roller bearings. Billet aluminum steering yoke with aluminum grips and billet levers. Steering Lock: 20°; Lean Angle: 45°

Viper V10 engine

• 500 bhp (372 kW) @ 5600 rpm (60.4 bhp/liter); 525 lb.-ft. (712 Nm) @ 4200 rpm
• 10-cylinder 90-degree V-type, liquid-cooled, 505 cubic inches (8277 cc)
• 356-T6 aluminum alloy block with cast-iron liners, aluminum alloy cylinder heads
• Bore x Stroke: 4.03 inches x 3.96 inches (102.4 x 100.6)
• Two pushrod-actuated overhead valves per cylinder
• Roller-type hydraulic lifters
• Sequential fuel injection with individual runners
• Compression Ratio: 9.6:1
• Max Engine Speed: 6000 rpm
• Fuel: Unleaded gasoline, 93 octane (R+M/2)
• Dry sump oil system takes 8 quarts of oil
• Cooling: Twin aluminum radiators mounted atop engine intake manifolds, force-fed from front-mounted, belt-driven turbine fan. Takes 11 quarts of antifreeze.
• Exhaust: Equal-length tubular stainless steel headers with dual collectors and central rear outlets

Suspension, brakes, tires, and wheels

Front suspension: Outboard, single-sided parallel upper and lower control arms made from polished billet aluminum. Mounted via ball joint to aluminum steering uprights and hubs. Five degrees caster. Single, adjustable centrally located coil-over damper (2.25-inch coil with adjustable spring perch); pullrod and rocker-actuated mono linkage. Center-lock racing-style hubs.

Rear suspension: Hand-fabricated box-section steel inboard swing arms, incorporating hydral-link lockable recirculating hydraulic circuit parking stand. Single adjustable Koni coil-over damper (2.25-inch coil with adjustable spring perch); pushrod and rocker-actuated mono linkage. Center-lock racing-style hubs

Front brakes: 20-inch perimeter-mounted drilled machined stainless steel rotors, one per wheel. Two four-piston fixed aluminum calipers per wheel (16 pistons total), custom designed. Blue anodized caliper finish. Hand-activated.

Rear brakes: 20-inch perimeter-mounted drilled cast-iron rotors, one per wheel. One four-piston fixed aluminum caliper per wheel (8 pistons total), custom designed. Blue anodized caliper finish. Foot-activated.

Tires and wheels: Billet aluminum discs, asymmetrical, twin 20x4 front, twin 20x5 rear, with custom made Dunlop symmetrical tires (P120/60R20 in front, P150/50R20 in back).

Is it a motorcycle?

Donald Poindexter, Jr., noted that the Tomahawk isn’t really a motorcycle, at least not by American standards: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proclaims that a motorcycle can have no more that 3 wheels on the ground during normal operation. “For the Tomahawk to have been sold in the U.S. for road use, it would have had to pass all of the automobile safety standards. Had the engineers replaced one of the tire pairs (either front or back) with a single tire (for a total of three), it would have been a motorcycle, although I think the lights might have been in violation of the regulations.”

The Tomahawk, then, was a concept motorcycle, but does not meet the legal requirements to be classified as a motorcycle by the U.S. government, or to be driven on the street — which may be one reason why it was never produced, save for nine copies sold by Neiman-Marcus for use only on private roads (or, as they phrased it, as automotive sculpture).