If bids are real, 1969 Charger owned by actor John Schneider has sold at close to a record for any car.
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com
POSTED: 3:55 p.m. EDT, May 4, 2007
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- If the bids are real - and the eBayMotors.com auction was stopped once for fake bidding - a modified 1969 Dodge Charger, painted to look like the General Lee from the TV Show "The Dukes of Hazzard," nearly became the most expensive car ever auctioned.
The auction closed at $9,900,500 at 1:00 pm Friday. That puts it just $1.1 million away from the $11 million paid for a 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Sports Coupe sold by the auction house Christie's in 1987. To date, that is the highest price ever paid for a car at auction, according to Christie's.
Schneider owned the car even before its use in "The Dukes of Hazzard." He leased it to Warner Bros. for its original on-screen appearances.
The car has been extensively modified since then.
"I do something nice for the General about once a year," said Schneider.
The car now has a 725 horsepower Hemi motor, Dodge Viper brakes and a roll cage, all of which allow it to race at over 200 miles per hour.
Unlike the those on the TV character General Lee, this car's doors do open. There is a scratch near the driver's side window where Schneider, as Bo Duke, jumped into the car. Schneider left the scratch, figuring it only increases the car's value.
"On a scale of coolness of 1 to 10," said Schneider, "this has got to be a 12."
LINK:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/05/04/gen ... index.html
