[4] The Tomahawk attracted significant press and industry attention for its striking design, its outsize-displacement, 10-cylinder car engine, and its four close-coupled wheels, which give it a motorcycle-like appearance.

[5] The retro-Art Deco design's central visual element is the 500-horsepower (370 kW), 8.3-litre (510 cu in) V10 SRT10 engine from the Dodge Viper sports car.

[6][10] 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.

[6] Once approved by Bernhard and Zetsche to build not just a full-scale mockup, but a running, workable concept vehicle, the design and fabrication process took six months.

[10] The Tomahawk was intended, unlike many concept vehicles, to be a "functional runner" that "had to work" as well as have a finished appearance, since the mechanical parts would be exposed to view.

[14] In 2003, RM Motorsports had been working on designs for versions with wider handlebars allowing more control, and two or three wheels instead of four, making a street-legal Tomahawk conceivable.

"[17][18] AutoWeek named the Ford 427 "Best Concept" and the Cadillac V-16 "Best in Show" for 2003, and the editors said they wished they had an award for "Best Automotive Sculpture" to give to the unexpected motorcycle they found so likable.

[15] As introduced in 2003, the one-of-a-kind Tomahawk was operational and road-ready, but not fully road-tested, and acceleration and top speed were not confirmed; Dodge described the vehicle both as "automotive sculpture", intended for display only, while also saying it was "rideable".

[8] The January 6, 2003, press release from Dodge announcing the Tomahawk and listing the specifications said it had "a potential top speed of nearly 400 miles per hour" and also said "Performance: 0–60 mph: 2.5 seconds (est.)

[3] Joe Teresi of Easyriders magazine, owner of Campos' record-setting streamliner motorcycle, said the top speed estimate must have been based only on horsepower and final drive ratio, and ignored the "critical factors" of frontal area, drag coefficient, and rolling resistance.

[1][3][29] In 2003, a Tomahawk was ridden by Bud Bennett of RM Motorsports at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but was able to complete only a single run, which he said "probably" reached 70 mph (110 km/h).

[8] Kerr described the top speed claims from Dodge as the work of "spin doctors", but said that the "less than convincing" "high-speed antics", combined with the failure to provide an obvious necessity of a fairing for a true high-speed motorcycle, or a fuel tank large enough to provide greater than 50 mi (80 km) range, were consistent with several indicators in the design of carelessness and laziness.

[8] He said the Tomahawk "illustrates how the automotive industry considers motorcycles a lesser form of its own discipline" and so "feel entirely qualified to redesign one whenever they run out of ideas for sports cars.

"[8] Kerr blamed this disregard of the rules of motorcycle design for the use of "too much over-simplified bodywork" on the Pininfarina Morbidelli V8, which the Tomahawk at least avoided, while still "missing the point about bikes.

"[8] The indecision between making a sport bike or cruiser led to the uncomfortable ergonomics of a dragster motorcycle, but it did not matter because the Tomahawk was "not intended to be taken seriously", notwithstanding the intention to produce a limited production run.

[8] While he found the basic shape "not unpleasant", the unseriousness led to an unfinished result, pointing out the lack of harmonization in the twin ram-air intakes, and the "incongruous" use of a retro single vertical stalk planted in the fuel tank in an otherwise futuristic design.

[8] Kerr acknowledges that DaimlerChrysler does not "give a damn" about the motorcycle industry point of view, because the Tomahawk was successful in its real purpose, "creating an almighty furor within the automotive world.

[8][10] In response to automotive writer Stephan Wilkinson's suggestion that the Tomahawk was "essentially worthless" as a "usable vehicle", Design Continuum's Alan Mudd disagreed.

[9] GM designer and automotive columnist Robert Cumberford agreed that leaving consumers disappointed is a risk, noting that the public loved the Range Stormer concept, creating a panic at Land Rover when they had nothing as "zoomy" to sell.

[9] Wilkinson said that concept cars serve less today as platforms to introduce new technology, such as power windows, LED lights, voice controls, or traffic display screens, and are instead more marketing tools and styling exercises.

[9] The New York Times asked various auto industry luminaries to pick the standouts among their competitors at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show, including Jin Kim of Toyota's Calty Design Research, who picked the Cadillac Sixteen, the Dodge Kahuna, and the Tomahawk, saying, "Just the fact that they had the guts to put that thing on the turntable, you've got to give them credit.