Dodge Tomahawk Concept Vehicle

The Tomahawk was a resounding success in its true purpose: to generate media buzz, and send the message that Chrysler was a bold, ambitious company, unafraid to take risks.
Inception
The idea for a Viper-engined motorcycle started with two lower-level Chrysler Group employees, Bob Schroeder, a design office modeler and motorcycle rider, and Dave Chyz, vehicle build specialist and drag racer. According to designer Mark Walters, himself not a "motorcycle guy", the question asked was, "What if we had a Viper engine and a Champion chassis? Something like a Boss Hoss." Schroeder and Chyz took the proposal to Senior Vice President of Design Trevor Creed, who initially said, "we don't build bikes" but still allowed some design sketches to be created, which were "mind blowing" enough to bring Creed on board. They eventually took the idea to Freeman Thomas, DaimlerChrysler VP of advanced design, who assigned Walters to join the effort. Thomas suggested using two front and rear wheels because a single wheel would look thin next to the unusually wide engine, inspired by the four-wheeled light cycles in the film Tron. Walters anticipated howls from bikers that this would make it not a motorcycle, but he felt uniqueness was more important, and imagined the appearance with only a single wheel in front of and behind the engine would have been visually unbalanced, saying he would like to see it made that way for comparison. By the spring of 2002, Walters had prepared a full scale design presentation, with sketches along a 20 ft (6.1 m) wall and a borrowed Viper engine resting on an engine stand with two wheels placed fore and aft as a visual aid. This was presented to Chrysler Group COO, Wolfgang Bernhard, and CEO, Dieter Zetsche, who gave their immediate approval.