Always coveted Dodge’s Viper-engined Tomahawk, the spectacular bike-cum-car concept that shocked the media at
2003’s NAIAS? A limited production run was subsequently announced, but we’re betting you don’t have one layed up
in your garage. Point-of-fact, we’re not sure if any ever found their way into private hands, because as of
yet, nobody’s has the stones to roll up to Autoblog Towers and offer theirs for a test spin. Regardless,
perhaps we’ve got a better shot with the Type 1 seen here. Though this bit of metallic design-school confectionry
similarly straddles the world between automobile and motorcycle, it reputedly was conceived prior to the Tomahawk’s
debut. Regardless, it can be seen as the predictable result of a design student’s interning at Hot Wheels,
IDEO. Well, that a few hundred sleepless nights spent watching Star Wars reruns and twirling a certain pizza cutter.
The tube-framed wonder is a runner, with a 600 cc DOHC motor cribbed from a 1990 Yamaha FZR, providing an estimated
91 horsepower through its six-speed transmission. Both sets of wheels are canted at 60 degrees and negative 60 degrees
relative to the ground, giving the bike its distinctive stance and ‘lean’ potential. A rear double swing-arm suspension
and dual stressed leaf-style connecting rods form the suspension, both with the ’tilt enable.’
No word on performance, but judging by the video
available on the Type 1’s dedicated website, turning might be an
issue, with a full-on, knee-to-the-tarmac corner likely an exercise best left to the brave (or crazy).