A Look Back at the 2035 Dodge SRT® Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo
10 months ago Showcase Video
We talk about a great many historic vehicles here on DodgeGarage, but most of them were introduced and on the roads years ago. On the other hand, back in 2015, Dodge introduced the 2035 SRT® Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo, so while we first learned about this unique futuristic hypercar almost a decade ago, we are still 12 years away from the point in history in which the Dodge//SRT team imagined this car existing. This car was designed by some of the same people – and at the same time – as the first SRT Hellcat vehicles from Dodge, but while the Challenger and Charger were engineered to dominate the street and strip, the SRT Tomahawk was created to dominate the gaming world.
For those fans of the Dodge brand who don’t remember the 2035 Dodge SRT Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo, it was introduced in conjunction with the PlayStation 3 video game Gran Turismo 6. As part of that legendary racing simulator title, the game designers invited several automakers to create what they envisioned as the pinnacle of performance 20 years into the future. The Dodge SRT Tomahawk was the last “vision” car introduced for Gran Turismo 6, but with three trim levels and performance levels that would literally be harmful to the human body, the V10-powered, all-wheel-drive hybrid hypercar was arguably the most capable car on the game.
When the 2035 Dodge SRT Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo was introduced in 2015, it was available in the virtual world in three trim levels, including the Street, GTS-R and X models. All three models were powered by a V10 hybrid drivetrain, but not a V10 from a Dodge Viper and not the type of hybrid that you might expect. Instead, the SRT Tomahawk used a 144-degree V10 that is similar in its construction to an Indy car engine, aided by a pneumatic drive system that powers the front wheels. The gasoline engine uses a 7-speed dual clutch gearbox to send power to the rear wheels while each of the front wheels is driven by “Variable-Fin Quad-Stage Pneumatic Power Unit”.
In the 2023 Dodge SRT Tomahawk Street, this hybrid drivetrain yields 1,007 total horsepower, with 792 coming from the V10 while the other 215 comes from the pneumatic system. This “street-legal” version of the SRT Tomahawk weighs just 2,206 pounds, leading to a power-to-weight ratio of just 2.19 pounds per horsepower. The Tomahawk Street comes with an active front splitter and an active rear wing, along with a trick air suspension system that makes constant adjustments to the jounce, rebound and camber, allowing the Tomahawk to maintain a huge contact patch in every driving situation.
When you step up to the race-ready Tomahawk GTS-R, the curb weight drops to 1,459 pounds while the output of the hybrid drivetrain climbs to 1,450 horsepower, with 1,137 from the V10 and 313 from the air-driven front power units. With a one-to-one horsepower-to-weight ratio, the Tomahawk GTS-R is among the best cars in the racing simulator world, achieving levels of performance that are actually harmful to the human body. The G-forces generated by the Tomahawk GTS-R are high enough that they can hurt the driver, so the Dodge//SRT engineers and designers involved with this program also created a pressurized G-suit.
In addition to the pneumatic air suspension system and the active front splitter, the Dodge SRT Tomahawk GTS-R comes with a unique dual-element active rear wing and large vents over each of the wheels to prevent air buildup at high speed.
Finally, the 2035 Dodge SRT Tomahawk X was designed as the extreme expression of what this technology could do. The V10 engine was modified to deliver 2,168 horsepower with another 422 from the pneumatic hybrid drive for a total system output of 2,590 horsepower. Due to the high-tech aero bits added all over the car, the Tomahawk X weight climbs to 1,658, but the added weight is worth what little compromise there is in power-to-weight ratio.
In addition to the pneumatic suspension, front splitter and dual-element rear wing, the Dodge SRT Tomahawk X has 9 body panels that lift and tilt with the same pneumatic system as the other performance components. These panels are constantly adjusting to provide the best possible grip and the lowest possible drag at all times. As a result, the Tomahawk X offers cornering abilities like no car in the real world. Well, no car in the real world back in 2015 or right now, but in 12 years, we could see racecars with elaborate active aero systems such as the one featured on the Dodge SRT Tomahawk X.
Dodge//SRT put so much effort into the Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo program that the company had a media first drive event. A group of select members of the media were invited to visit the headquarters in Auburn Hills, where we began our day by meeting with members of the SRT team that designed the car, along with members of the Sony development team that created the Gran Turismo 6 game. As a long-time racing gamer, it was exciting to meet Kazunori Yamauchi, head of Polyphony Digital (the branch of Sony that creates the Gran Turismo games) and as a hardcore fan of the Dodge//SRT brand, it was cool to hear Mark Trostle talk about the design process that went into the Tomahawk lineup.
After hearing both teams talk about their involvement in bringing the Dodge SRT Tomahawk to life in the virtual world, the media members were led into the area called the Design Dome, where we found a spread of Sony PlayStation 3 racing simulator consoles running Gran Turismo 6. We were invited to drive the Tomahawk on the legendary American race track of Laguna Seca, starting with the Street model in order to get a feel for how the hybrid Dodge hypercar performed.
Once we were comfortable with the Tomahawk S, we moved up to the race-bred Tomahawk GTS-R and, eventually, the Tomahawk X. While all three trim levels offered performance that is almost completely unrivaled on the game, the Tomahawk X was unlike anything I have experienced in even the most outrageous driving titles – but all within the confines of the GT6 simulator system. With 2,590 horsepower, a curb weight under 1,700 pounds and an active aero system designed to minimize drag, the Dodge SRT Tomahawk X accelerates to insane speeds more quickly than you can react, so as you exit one turn, you blast to the next turn in such a rush that you have to carefully plan your approach to each turn way in advance.
Also, with the active aero system also supporting braking and cornering grip, you can brake incredibly late and, in some turns, you can stay into the throttle without the car sliding much at all. Dodge set out to make the SRT Tomahawk X the most extreme performance car in the racing simulator world, and they did just that. After a bit of seat time, when I got a feel for the acceleration, braking and cornering capabilities, I was able to turn insanely quick lap times around Laguna Seca. The video below shows the Tomahawk X in action during the media drive event, but this was not my winning lap. As you watch the video, take note of how quickly it reaches big speeds and how the active body panels are constantly moving to optimize downforce and minimize drag.
As a special surprise, Dodge and Sony made a competition out of the virtual drive event, offering an autographed print of the Dodge SRT Tomahawk to the member of the media who turned the quickest lap around Laguna Seca. With a lap time of 45.489, I won that piece of artwork, crushing the rest of the media and coming within a few hundredths of a second of the best time turned in by a member of the Polyphony Digital team (45.458). That print, autographed by Ralph Gilles, Mark Trostle, Kazunori Yamauchi and other members of the Dodge//SRT and Polyphony Digital teams, is proudly displayed in my office today as a reminder of one of the coolest media drive events that I have ever had the pleasure of attending.
