It’s no secret that we are huge fans of the Dukes of Hazzard. Every time we see a General Lee out and about, we can’t help but get a little giddy. Now, while there are thousands of General Lee replicas cruising all over the world, there are only a few original ones. Considering how rough the show was on Chargers, it’s surprising there are any left what so ever.
In fact, it’s been said 17 original General Lees survived filming of the show. Warner Bros. kept the cars tucked away in a back lot until they were finally released and sold to the public in 1991 with the help of Wayne Wooten, owner of the Dodge Charger Registry. Over the years, the cars have changed hands numerous times and have been relocated to various parts of the world with their respective owners.
Currently, Volo Cars has one of these 17 original surviving General Lees for sale. The car started life as a real XS code 440 powered ’69 Charger R/T and according to records is the only surviving R/T out of the few they used in the show. The current owner has had it for over 20 years and has finally decided to part ways with it.
It has been autographed by John Schneider and Tom Wopat and also includes the General’s signature CNH 320 license plate that was signed by them as well. It has all the Warner Bros. documentation to prove it’s pedigree. It also includes the log book from the last 3 seasons of the series showing the service that had been done to the car. Besides the TV series, the owner says the car was also used in the recent Auto Trader commercial with John and Tom, the Showtime TV series Weeds and a few various other publications.
Around 2005, the car had a partial restoration preserving much of it’s originally while making it more drivable. It still has about 60% of it’s original Warner Bros. applied paint along with a number of the original parts such as the original push bar and wheels. The entire mechanical portion of the car was rebuilt including the 440. Sadly, the owner reports that he had the interior redone and is not the original show used interior.
If you want to bring home this piece of Dukes of Hazzard history, you will need to have deep pockets! With a hefty price tag of $225,000 USD, it’s going to take a large wallet to make it yours. Unfortunately we don’t have enough pennies yet.