Lee 1: "The most famous television car in the world"

Photo: Autoblog.com

What's "the most famous television car in the world"? We suppose that depends on who you ask, but to many, nothing but the General Lee could possibly hold the title.

Of course, there wasn't just one General Lee. In fact, scores of orange Dodge Chargers were filmed for "The Dukes of Hazzard," and most of them never survived their first televised escapade.

Not so Lee 1, so named because it was the car that famously jumped over a Hazzard County police cruiser in the very first episode of the hit series. If you've ever seen the opening credits, you know the car we're talking about... it flew 16 feet in the air over a distance of 82 feet. And, as you may have guessed, it didn't exactly stick the landing.

You don't have to be born in the 1960s or 1970s to be able to recognize the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard and the Pontiac Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit. These old school four-wheeled stars seem to transcend demographics thanks to the miles of film that show the orange 1969 Dodge Charger and the jet-black 1977 Pontiac Trans Am performing seemingly impossible stunts.

The folks at Hot Rod magazine are obviously hip to this fact, and they put together a fun video in tribute of the instantly recognizable duo. Hit play to watch on as Sam Young and James Smith replace Bo Duke and The Bandit for a bit of dirt-road shenanigans in a pair of otherwise well cared for classics. We're not so sure we'd call it the best chase scene ever, but it sure looks like a lot of fun.

Source: autoblog