Rostislav Prokop is one of the most famous freelance 3D car designers in the world. And while you might not be familiar with the Czech’s name, you’ll almost certainly have seen his crazy creations on Instagram. This is one of Rostislav’s most controversial pieces of all time, a modern Dodge Charger, a Hellcat-powered coupe that differs from the Challenger just enough while also adopting the persona of General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard.
Both the Charger and Challenger are muscle car royalty. The only 2-liter you’ll find here is a supercharger, as a fake Dodge commercial recently put it. It’s nice that Mopar fans are offered the choice of either the sedan or the coupe. A Challenger convertible would have been nice as well, but I think many old-timers still prefer the notion of the Charger being a muscle coupe instead of a 4-door.
And it’s only natural. From 1966 to 2006, The Charger didn’t have four doors. That’s 40 years of heritage, and while there’s nothing wrong with adapting to new market trends, it shouldn’t come at the expense of what could be the most famous Dodge nameplate.
Likewise, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to see how a Dodge Charger may look as a muscle coupe, and that’s what Rostislav delivers. At its core, this is a face swap in 3D, much like they do that Daytona fiberglass nose for the Challenger or the Pontiac nose for a Camaro. But there are deeper changes as well.
The rendering’s front end combines the boxy shapes of a widebody Challenger Hellcat with the flowing headlights of a Charger sedan and front bumper. This leads to a power bulge and functional scoop to feed the Hellcat motor, though it’s actually more like the Redeye model in design.
Down the sides, it’s easy to spot the Charger-like door crease and the General Lee graphics. But just to make sure everybody is offended, he added big wheels and the lowered stance of a riced Honda Civic.
It’s pretty pointless to do a Charger front end on the Challenger, but the rear is actually a big deal. The wrap-around taillights are a cool touch and the rear pillars flow back a little more to partially recess the window.
The mystery of the orange General Lee
The TV show is known for its outrageous and dangerous car stunts. You’ll find a lot of stories about “General Lee” and that’s because they used a lot of them. The claims go between 255 and 325 examples of the Dodge Charger, many of which were badly damaged.
The car had quite a few distinguishing features, like a front bull bar, the signature horn and the doors being welded shut. The name, as you probably already know, is borrowed from the famous Robert E. Lee. Between that and the Confederate flag on the roof, it’s easily one of the most controversial Hollywood cars of all time.
In the TV show, the Dukes needed a race car for their newly built engine and found a busted-up Charger in the junkyard. The muscle car got painted from black to orange because that’s the only paint their mechanic had around the shop. And it’s not a specific shade like HEMI Orange or Corvette Flame Red. The people cranking out these cars just mixed up something on the spot, since they made at least one new Lee per episode and they generally got beat up.
But there is, apparently, an official General Lee color. It’s called “TNT Express”, which was sourced off the first car that was jumped and you can find all the details in the video at the bottom.
