The case of the Dodge Tomahawk is perhaps one of those clear examples where the saying “Manolete, if you don’t know how to fight, why do you get involved?” It is fulfilled perfectly. Among other things because it was a true technical fiasco, despite the fact that the emblematic American brand had all the technical and economic resources to have created a true missile in the form of a motorcycle.
In any case, the idea to build a motorcycle like the Tomahawk appears to have come from two Chrysler Group employees, Bob Schroeder, and Dave Chyz. Both presented the project to the company’s board of directors and although at first they were reluctant to develop it, they finally saw it favorably as a commercial claim.
It was Mark Walters, the designer chosen by the brand, who was in charge of shaping the initial sketches of the model. A few months later, in the spring of 2002, he had already prepared a full-scale mold of the motorcycle that would be presented to Chrysler Group COO Wolfgang Bernhard and CEO Dieter Zetsche. Both gave their approval for the construction of the first prototype of the Tomahawk equipped with the already famous Viper V10 engine.
Development and manufacturing of the Tomahawk
It was the company RM Motorsports that was commissioned to manufacture the motorcycle and, over the next six months, different tune-ups were carried out in which the engine would become the central element of the assembly.
The rest of the bike had to be shaped around this, with the complexity that this entailed. The closest that had been until then to something similar were the well-known Boss Hoss equipped with a 5.7-liter Chevrolet V8 engine.
The 2003 Detroit Motor Show was the time and place chosen by Dodge to present its exclusive creature in the form of a motorcycle, which was awarded the prize Specialized Concept Vehicle. Its performance figures were unusual for a two-wheeled vehicle, in addition to a futuristic design that seemed to have come out of any of the films that make up the iconic Mad Max saga.
The famous Viper V10 engine of 8.3 liters and 20 valves declared a final power of 507 HP and 712 Nm of maximum torque. The brand claimed that it could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 2.5 seconds and easily surpass the 400 km/h barrier. It is curious that they dared to make these statements taking into account that until that moment it had not been tested on the asphalt under any circumstances.
Later, it was stated that the Tomahawk could reach a maximum speed of 420 Mph, about 680 km/h. The reality is that in the different tests that were subsequently carried out, no one was able to exceed 160 km/h at the controls of such a metallic mass.
Around that time, Phil Patton of The New York Times wrote: “In theory, the Tomahawk can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in two and a half seconds and reach 300 miles per hour. In practice, since Evel Knievel retired, it’s hard to imagine anyone willing to try it.”
The finishing touch to that industrial adventure by Dodge came at the well-known Goodwood Festival of Speed where the brand took an exhibition lap with the Tomahawk and in no case could it exceed 112 km/h.
In the video we show you below you can clearly see the difficulty, even in being able to keep it straight once the gas was turned on fully. It is logical to think that there were notable design errors in some of the technical aspects that made up the model.
The reality is that, between 2003 and 2006, Only 9 examples of Tomahawk were sold for $550,000 each.. Not even the brand itself was in charge of this mission, even more so considering that we are talking about a motorcycle that was not, in any case, approved to be able to ride on the street. It was the luxury store chain Neiman Marcus that marketed each and every one of the units sold during those three years.
Without a doubt a complete technical fiasco, but perhaps the brand’s intention was never to demonstrate how effective its Viper V10-powered Tomahawk could have been. In fact, Allen Millyard, the well-known British motorcycle builder, demonstrated that it was possible to make a motorcycle equipped with this mechanism and that was fully operational, although that is another story that we will tell you very soon.
