If you attended the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 2003, you’d catch some really cool unveils like the Rolls-Royce Phantom, Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage, Ford Mustang GT coupe concept, and V-16-powered Cadillac Sixteen concept. Then, something unusual called the Dodge Tomahawk would mentally transport you into the plot of “Blade Runner” without your consent.
The brochure for this motorcycle concept mentions that the original reaction to this vehicle “typically comes in two words: ‘wow’ and ‘why.’” Trevor Creed, then senior vice president of design at Chrysler Group, weighed in, saying, “Tomahawk as an icon of the extreme thinking for a brand that is known not only for the legendary Viper and Ram, but also for all new, innovative vehicles such as the Magnum SRT-8 and Durango concepts.”
That same brochure touted the Tomahawk as “Breaking Boundaries at Full Throttle.” Now, I don’t remember 2003 as much as I should due to my age, but was boundaries another word for “bones” or “lifeforce?”
This four-wheel, single-passenger motorcycle featured a 505ci V-10 sourced from a Viper, which was advertised at 500-plus horsepower and a top speed of “nearly 400 miles per hour — for anyone who wants to test it.” The engine was paired with a custom-made two-speed manual sequential racing transmission, four-wheel independent suspension, and absolutely zero regard for human life.
I must admit, the rolling dystopian look Dodge brought forward with this motorcycle somewhat intrigued me as a kid (and still does!), though there’s a pesky realization of “maybe going down the road with only a V-10 engine in-between your legs is dangerous” that brings me back to Earth. It looks like something either Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford) would drive in “Blade Runner,” or maybe something that would complement an evil Robocop nicely. In either case, whoever is driving would have to be the only one since, regretfully, Dodge only wanted one driver with a suicidal need for speed instead of a driver and passenger.
Offered at $555,000 in the Neiman Marcus catalog, it is believed that up to nine were built for the general public, though it was sold as automotive sculpture, as opposed to a street-legal vehicle (wink-wink). “The replica is operational,” Dave Elshoff, senior manager for sales, marketing and motor-sports communications for the Chrysler group, told Forbes magazine, but “it is not fully road-tested and validated by our engineers.”
