Hi, I’m Brian Grams, museum director for Volo Museum, and today I want to share the remarkable story behind one of the most significant cars in our collection and in television history: the General Lee from the iconic TV show The Dukes of Hazzard.
Over 41 years later, the car still has a massive fan base. The show went through over 300 Dodge Chargers in only 147 episodes. Only 19 of those show-used cars still exist today exist today!
Why ours is considered the “Holy Grail” of General Lees
The first five episodes were filmed in Georgia. Only six General Lees were built in Georgia for the show. The first five were abused or destroyed during filming. Warner Bros moved the show to California for cheaper production and to build General Lee’s much more inexpensively because of the rate at which they were being destroyed. The studio didn’t want to pay to ship the surviving 6th car across the country, so they sold it to their transportation manager.
Volo Museum now owns that surviving General Lee #6!
It was built from parts salvaged from other wrecked General Lees. The roll bar used in this car was actually taken from General Lee #1! It is completely unrestored with all of its original parts and only 1,800 miles have been put on it since 1978!
Details the #6 “Georgia-Built” General Lee has that all of the others do not.
This car features several details that clearly distinguish it from the California-built General Lees:
- The iconic Dixie Horn is actually functional and installed in the car. Every show filmed in California overdubbed the sound effects in post-production.
- The graphics on the doors and hood were hand-painted! Every California-built car used decals instead to save time and money.
- Side marker and reverse lights – later builders shaved marker lights for consistency – especially once they started using more ’68 bodies
- 14-inch gray, higher-quality, wheels – California cars used cheaper, black, 15-inch wheels.
- A narrower push bar – California production standardized specs and made it wider to make it easier to replicate.
- There were full roll bars or cages – later cars had thinner roll bars, some with black foam padding.
- Early cars had factory saddle/tan interiors – later cars were dye/sprayed a lighter “Dukes tan/beige” for consistency between cars.
All of these subtle differences make our car #6 a historic time capsule from the show’s earliest production days.
An Unprecedented Rate of Destruction
The General Lee revolutionized car stunts and breathtaking jumps, reaching a height of 16ft and a distance of 82ft! Many of the jump scenes would be impossible because the engine weighs more than the trunk, and it would nose-dive. So they filled the trunks with concrete bags to distribute the weight, but once it landed, the concrete would completely smash the car. A forklift would pick it up and put another General Lee in its place. Due to the number of Chargers bought and destroyed by the show, the General Lee inadvertently caused a huge Dodge Charger shortage. During the show, the car would get three times more fan letters than all of the main actors combined, so desperate crew members went as far as aerial searches to find as many as they could, leaving flyers on Chargers’ windshields, asking if “Dukes” could buy their car. As the shortage worsened and funds dried up, a desperate Warner Bros. decided to use miniature cars for the final one and a half seasons. These remote-controlled cars were used for the bigger, much more exaggerated jump scenes to preserve any remaining General Lees, which drew major backlash from fans, critics, cast, and crew.
Fully Documented Hollywood History
We have extensive paperwork and documentation tracing this car’s history from the day Warner Bros purchased it to the moment it entered our collection. Its provenance is unquestionable. You will also notice that the entire cast has signed the car, making it even more coveted among collectors and enthusiasts. Today, this extraordinary vehicle is just one of many extremely rare and iconic cars in Volo Museum’s TV and Movie car collection.
