Dodge Tomahawk was introduced as a concept motorcycle at at the 2003 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. In the same year Neiman Marcus started offering the motorcycle on their catalog. Fewer than 10 units sold.
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).
Car reviews and buyer advice
No reviews possible. No buyer advice feasible.
Is it a motorcycle?
Donald Poindexter, Jr., noted that the Tomahawk isn’t really a motorcycle; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proclaims that a motorcycle can have no more that 3 wheels on the ground during normal operation. Donald wrote,
“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).
image: www.allpar.com
