What Kind Of Car Was The General Lee And What Engine Did It Have?

In the long history of film and television, countless vehicles of all shapes and sizes have appeared on screens big and small. While the vast majority have been relegated to the background or failed to develop much of a cultural following, a select few were far luckier. There are several that people agree are the most iconic movie and TV cars of all time, with the General Lee — the chosen ride of Bo (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) on the adored action-comedy series "The Dukes of Hazzard" — residing among them.

"The Dukes of Hazzard" ran from 1979 to 1985, and through it all, the General Lee was one of its central pieces of iconography. Still, many don't know which model the legendary orange muscle car was. Typically, the General Lee is a 1969 Dodge Charger, though production went through so many that some 1968 models were covertly swapped in. Throughout the program's run, well over 300 Chargers were used, with just under 20 surviving into the modern era. After all, those wild street chases, close-up shots, and freeze-frame-worthy jumps would've been a lot on just one car. Speaking of the antics the Duke boys get up to in the General Lee, one might be surprised to learn that they were powered by more than one type of engine.

As mentioned, the General Lee is featured in all kinds of scenes on "The Dukes of Hazzard" — some are action-oriented, others are simple drives, and many just involve it being part of the scenery. Thus, to suit these different situations, the folks working on the program brought in different kinds of engines. For instance, in scenes specifically involving Bo and Luke without any wild action, production utilized a 440ci Magnum V8 engine — one that saw some good and bad years throughout its tenure. At the same time, this engine was oftentimes chosen for jumps, but it wasn't the only engine to tackle such extreme scenes.

The General Lee's impressive power and speed weren't pulled off on the 440ci V8 alone. Underneath the hood, some stunt-scene-specific units featured a 383ci V8 instead. "The Dukes of Hazzard" also called for the creation of a "ski car" meant to drive and balance on its side on only two wheels. This incarnation of the Lee was powered by a 318ci V8 to ensure it could move effectively yet wasn't too heavy for the stunts at hand.

Thankfully, if you want a passable General Lee of your own but don't have a 1969 Dodge Charger or any of the aforementioned engines on hand, you're not entirely out of luck. That is, assuming you're all right with getting your hands dirty.

If you're in the market for a 1969 Dodge Charger to convert into a General Lee or simply drive around as-is, good luck. While these classic rides aren't too difficult to come by, they are expensive, with Classic.com noting that the 119 sales of this car in the past five years have yielded an average sale price of $214,477. If you're not about spending that kind of money on a muscle car, and you aren't a stickler for details when it comes to replicating famous cars, there's always the option of turning an entirely different model into the General Lee of your dreams.

For instance, AutoEdits on YouTube chronicled the process of turning a long-discontinued famous Ford Crown Victoria into a General Lee. Granted, this job does involve stripping the Crown Vic down to its bare essentials and modifying it extensively to look like the "Dukes of Hazzard" vehicle, which could be a pricey and time- and labor-intensive process, but the end result is highly impressive. Looking around online reveals that numerous other 1969 Dodge Charger and General Lee enthusiasts have taken on the same project to varying levels of completion.

The General Lee is undoubtedly legendary, and the 1969 Dodge Charger remains widely sought-after among car collectors. Therefore, it's no surprise that folks have gone above and beyond to make their own, sidestepping the Charger aftermarket entirely and the hecticness that would come with trying to track down one of the last TV-used General Lees in existence.