9 Most Famous Dodge Chargers in Movies
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
1. 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 in Bullitt (1968)
In this taut police drama, Steve McQueen plays San Francisco police officer Frank Bullitt, who has been assigned to protect a witness. The story complicates when two hit men go after the witness. Bullitt decides to beat them to the punch – and the chase is on!
Rumor Has It: The driver of the 440 Charger had to go lightly on the accelerator during filming of this scene because the 390 Mustang couldn't keep up. Check out this iconic Hollywood chase scene in Part One and Part Two.
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2. 1968 Dodge Charger (vs. Challenger) in Vanishing Point (1997)
Vanishing Point is a 1997 television remake of the 1971 cult film about a former race car driver and Army Ranger named Kawalski (Viggo Mortensen) who needs to drive cross country from Denver to San Francisco in fifteen hours and runs into trouble with the highway patrol. He drives the same model 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T that appeared in the original, which starred Barry Newman.
Rumor Has It: Though the filmmakers originally wanted to use actual Hemi Challengers to make the movie, when they discovered how expensive they are, they used 440 Challengers with Hemi nameplates as a more cost-effective alternative. Also, the black 1968 Charger used in the film was a nod to its famous predecessor in Bullitt (1968).
Check out this clip from Vanishing Point.
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3. 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 440 in Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)
Peter Fonda plays Larry Rayder, who dreams of becoming a NASCAR driver. However, his road to success involves robbing a supermarket and stealing a 1969 Dodge Charger. Mary Coombs, with whom he’s had a one night stand, is hiding in the back of the car. Their escape, which you can see right here, is complicated by the cops, a helicopter, and a train.
Rumor Has It: Three Chargers were used in the film. Two 1969 Dodge Chargers (one "R/T" and one coupe), and one 1968 Dodge Charger (coupe). Two of the Chargers were intentionally damaged in the front (after a scene where the Charger collided with the truck), and there is a notable difference in the damage from car to car.
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4. 1969 Dodge Charger in The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)
Cousins Bo (Seann William Scott) and Luke Duke (Johnny Knoxville) enter the Annual Hazzard Road Race to save their uncle’s farm from corrupt county commissioner Boss Hogg (Burt Reynolds) who wants to turn the town of Hazzard into a coal strip-mine. In their 1969 Dodge Charger (known as “The General Lee”), the Duke boys and cousin Daisy (Jessica Simpson) try to evade Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (M.C. Gainey) and overrun scheming Boss Hogg.
Rumor Has It: Twenty-six Dodge Chargers were used in this film. Several 1968 and 1970 Chargers were converted to look like 1969 Chargers. Only one Hemi Charger was used, the rest were 440s, 383s and a few small-block 318s.
Check out the General Lee in action in this clip.
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5. 1966 Dodge Charger in Big Fish (2003)
Directed by Tim Burton, Big Fish follows the incredible life of Edward Bloom (played by Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney) and the action unfolds through a series of flashbacks that begin when his son Will (Billy Crudup) visits him for the last time. Edward is dying of cancer, and Will must unravel his father’s fantastical stories to determine which ones are real and which are pure imagination. Throughout the film, both past and present, Bloom drives a red 1966 Dodge Charger which can be seen submerged under water, and later hanging from the top of a tree.
Rumor Has It: A number of sources claim that the Dodge Charger used in the film was 1967, but actually, Edward's car is a 1966 Dodge Charger. This fastback Charger (B-body) was first produced in 1966 in retaliation to the AMC Marlin, Ford Mustang, and Plymouth Barracuda and was a complete departure from Dodge’s mainstream vehicles.
Check out this clip from Big Fish.
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6. 1970 Dodge Charger R/T in The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Los Angeles police officer Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) must decide where his loyalty really lies when he joins the ranks of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his highly skilled racing crew and becomes enamored with the street racing world he has been sent undercover to destroy. The film and its sequels feature a 1970 Dodge Charger R/T.
Rumor Has It: There we more than 60 Japanese vehicles in this movie. Only two domestics are ever driven by the principal cast: Dominic drives a 1970 Charger, and Brian drives a Ford Lightning parts truck. Dom also drives a '70 Chevelle SS post credits.
Check out this scene from The Fast and the Furious.
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7. 1970 Dodge Charger in Furious 7 (2015)
The Charger is the vehicle that keeps giving, never more so than in Furious 7 when Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) flips on the flames and his 1970 Charger ridiculously and preposterously launches into a circling helicopter. After its midair collision, the Charger comes crashing back to earth and it seems Dom is doomed, which is all the motivation Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) needs to blow up the helicopter. Spoiler Alert: Dom’s friends help him out of the wreckage and bring him back to life before the emergency vehicles show up and the end credits roll.
Rumor Has It: Dennis McCarthy, the car coordinator for the last five Furious films, gave some insight into the Charger used in the film: “The Charger was built from scratch. We basically copied a Pro 2 chassis, a short-course off road truck. The Charger had Sway-A-Way bypass shocks, the whole cage is all tied together, just like a true off-road race car would be.“ (Roadandtrack.com, April 3, 2015).
If you want a taste of Dom's Charger, check out this video.
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8. 1969 Dodge Charger in Death Proof (2007)
In this thriller by Quentin Tarantino, two separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by severely scarred Stuntman Dave (Kurt Russell) who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans. The film makes use of some good car chases including one in which Zoe is hanging onto the hood of their white Dodge Challenger while Kurt Russell and his black 1969 Dodge Charger tries to play bumper cars with them.
Rumor Has It: The 1970 Dodge Challenger driven by the girls has door frames. The original 1970 model Challenger did not have door frames. The crew most likely added the door frames for the "ship's mast" stunt to be possible.
Check out Zoe stuck on the roof playing "ship's mast" in this high-speed adrenalized chase.
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9. 1968 Dodge Charger in Grand Theft Auto (1977)
A rich girl (Nancy Morgan) steals her dad's Rolls Royce and heads off to Las Vegas to get married to her sweetheart (Ron Howard). However, her angry parents, a jealous suitor, and a bunch of reward seekers are determined to stop her. The jealous suiter (Paul Linke) chases after them in a 1968 Dodge Charger and winds up overturned on the freeway. Such is the way of the word for the Dodge Charger and the movie business.
Rumor Has It: Two Rolls Royces were used on the film. All the Los Angeles freeway scenes were shot without permits.
Watch as Paul Linke rolls the Charger in this scene.
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