Comments about this vehicle

Author	Message
mozinor ◊ 2005-01-13 00:37	-- Last edit: 2006-03-14 21:33:43
-winger- ◊ 2005-02-24 05:57	1970.
antp ◊ 2005-04-09 22:07	Et une vue de face pour compléter :
deadlineautotheft ◊ 2006-06-25 02:39	How fast can this go?
trucker ◊ 2006-07-13 07:26	How fast do R/T cars go?
stronghold ◊ 2006-07-13 07:59	trucker wrote How fast do R/T cars go? ..'Car & Driver' tested one of these in November '69 ... top speed estimated at 146mph ... zero to 60 in 5.8secs and the quarter mile coming up in 14.1secs.! (& these are stats for a standard-production car ... no extra mods.!) ...that E-type in the movie ..had little chance.!!
fosterchild420 ◊ 2006-07-26 23:19	anyone else notice that it is not this car that wrecks at the end....it is a camaro?
Gurragas ◊ 2006-08-25 19:36	Yes, why wreck a mopar when there is GM ? did you now that they pull the camaro whit a charger in 160 mph, the camaro was filled whit gasoline and they want it to chrash and roll over the maskins? but it went wrong, the camaro stands up on the front and stay there.
dwc43 ◊ 2006-10-22 07:45	Actually it was towed by cable into the dozers by one of the Challenger stunt cars with a 383 engine and it hit hte dozers at 80. If you look close in the movie you will see some sparks that fly up in the air. It's the cable as it snaps off the car after impact.
stpaulcarguy ◊ 2006-11-18 03:34	I want that car.
stpaulcarguy ◊ 2007-04-17 06:32	I'v got the diecast model of this one.
truck man ◊ 2007-11-14 23:49	This car meet an unfortunate end involving 2 bull dozers
Raul1983 ◊ 2008-01-12 18:10	-- Last edit: 2013-06-20 17:54:55 (antp)
antp ◊ 2008-01-12 18:16	now that the main pic has been changed my comment is meaningless: main pic was a side view
drake426 ◊ 2008-01-31 10:14	This movie is pure Mopar-Land. Love it
stpaulcarguy ◊ 2008-02-27 04:52	truck man wrote This car meet an unfortunate end involving 2 bull dozers Actully they use a '67 camaro, you can see it when the police are trying to put out the fire after the crash. Plus if you pause the movie at the right time you can tell the tail lights arent the same. /vehicle_149072-Chevrolet-Camaro.html
MaindrianPace ◊ 2008-06-09 03:58	According to Barry Newman in both 1984 and a 2008 recent interview, they use three 440 Magnum Six Packs and one 426 Hemi with 4-speed manual transmissions with Hurst Pistol Grip Shifter, and one 383 Magnum with 3-speed Torquelite Automatic Transmission. In the recent interview Newman says the brand new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 is better then the 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T model. Link to "www.motortrend.com" Barry Newman Interview Barry Newman actually thinks the 1970 Dodge R/T model is a little faster because of the body compared to the brand new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8. In the film Barry Newman character Jimmy Kowalski's journey starts in Cisco, California on Sunday Morning, then once he crosses with an all black 1970 Imperial Lebaron 10:02 a.m. the Challenger vanishes, and the Imperial takes off, his magical journey now flashbacks to Denver, Colorado on Friday night at 11:30 p.m. where he is now assigned to delivered a brand new supercharged alphine white 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T powered by a 440 Magnum Six Pack, and a 4-speed manual transmission. Kowalski leaves out of Denver in high speed, the Police start chasing him on Saturday Morning goes into Sunday Morning in Cisco, California at 10:04 a.m. when the explodes to death through the bulldozers. I know they wreck a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro in the bulldozer explodation scene instead of a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T. -- Last edit: 2008-06-13 22:53:56
hot rod carl ◊ 2008-07-20 05:31	This is the movie where i fell in love with this car. and i'm still hocked. I did notice the camaro and no one believed me
Skid ◊ 2008-07-22 10:20	I doubt any of the cars were really Hemi-powered, even if Barry said so. Steve McQueen also said the Mustangs used in Bullitt were hot-rodded 289s, when in fact Warner Brothers official documentation lists them as GT-390s.
The Wheelman ◊ 2008-08-23 05:20	If you want to see this car in person, go to the Floyd Garrett Muscle Car Museum in Tennesee.
MaindrianPace ◊ 2009-01-11 18:56	The history on the movie Vanishing Point. However since the 1970 Dodge Challengers were on loan from Chrysler to the production company, and had to returned to Chrysler in reasonable condition, a derelict green 1967 Chevrolet Camaro was located to act as the stand in or stunt double for the Challengers. Balchowsky removed the drivetrain, transmission, and the engine, then decided to have the Forest Green Camaro painted a beautiful matching Alpine White. Then placed a 383 Magnum along with the transmission, and drivetrain in the Camaro. Loftin had used the 383 Magnum automatic Challenger as the tow vehicle to get the Camaro up to speed, a method Loftin had used in many films. The Camaro was rigged with explosives to detonate when the car had hit the Caterpillar bulldozers, which were angled blades to blade to bring the renegade driver to a full stop.
motorman ◊ 2009-04-14 16:21	Bought one of these new in 1970. 383 magnum, pistol grip 4 speed, SE interior, R/T package, white with black leather. the only add on was an FM radio. I know, but it was a big option then. It came with 390 gears and I changed it out to 323 gears for top end. It topped out at about 160; it probably could have gotten more the it was unstable in the wind at that speed, since it didn't have any front air damns to keep it from lifting off. It was a great car. Very dependable,NEVER any engine or trans trouble. Kept it for 12 years and sold it. YEAH,wish i hadn't. It was rapped around a tree not too long after the guy bought it. I drove one of the new R/T challs and yes it is much better and should be. My '70 chall had drum brakes which were crap. Seats were uncomfortable, no a/c, no power steering,roll up windows, and fogged up EVERY time it rained where you could barely drive and see. It was basiclly just motor and wheels. But it was fun to drive; and I got to be Kowalski from time to time. Didn't loose too many races. One to a Hemi cuda which I didn't mind in the quarter mile and one to my brother's 67 GTO 7.2 liter on a 20 mile timed run. It was very fast and had the weight to hold it down at high speeds. Vanishing point will always be a fav...
MaindrianPace ◊ 2009-06-04 07:05	Kowalski's supercharged 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T actually had W22 Option which are the road warrior style rally wheels which were factory mags. My Dad over 20 years ago had once traded a 1971 Toyota Corolla that didn't run for a Iceland Blue 1971 Dodge Dart Swinger which had the same factory mags as Kowalski's car. -- Last edit: 2009-06-07 06:36:36
Cycolac Fan ◊ 2009-07-30 00:26	I drove one recently, a white 1974, though it was only a 340ci version. Found it a really nice car to drive, a good size, easy to place on the road though quite wide by British standards. Not especially powerful but a lot better than I expected, good driving position and worth it for the noise alone. I imagine the early versions with a bigger engine would be a hell of a nice car to own if it came with disc brakes and decent tyres.
vanpoint1 ◊ 2010-08-30 20:12	Lots of you people are getting your facts jumbled. I've seen this move well-over 100x, and NEVER in the original 1971 version of this film was Kowalski's first name ever mentioned. However, in the 1997 made-for-t.v. remake starring Viggo Mortensen, they made the main-character's first name Jimmy. Also, regardless of what someone thinks they heard in an interview with Barry Newman, there was never a 426 Hemi 4spd. car used in this movie. 1x383 Magnum auto's and 3x440 6 pack 4spd's.
Kowalski5599 ◊ 2010-09-30 19:26	Agreed Vanpoint1, His first name is never said in the original film. In fact, when police officers are tallying up his offences and personal history, they say and spell his last name 'Last name: Kowalski, K-O-W-A-L-S-K-I. First name? First name my flat foot, what is that?" While reading from a form. I'm sure Jimmy or James was just as common a name back in the 1970's, so the officer wouldn't be so shocked. It must have been something uncommon.
14stutz ◊ 2010-10-21 07:37	The helicopter above is a Bell 206 JetRanger. The other helicopter in the film is a FH-1100.
14stutz ◊ 2010-10-21 07:38	Cycolac Fan wrote I imagine the early versions with a bigger engine would be a hell of a nice car to own if it came with disc brakes and decent tyres. Easy fixes!
tony ◊ 2011-05-03 04:36	the hood scoop emblems are too small to say either 426 hemi or 440 sixpack -- Last edit: 2011-12-05 16:00:07
tony ◊ 2011-07-06 00:10	fosterchild420 wrote anyone else notice that it is not this car that wrecks at the end....it is a camaro? it's a 67 camaro you can see the vent window
MoabUtMan ◊ 2011-08-17 15:09	I was at the site of the crash into the bulldozers during the filming of Vanishing Point. Here are some details. We were on a 1 month vacation in July of 1970, to the western part of the Great USA. We travelled from Chicago Illinois and headed south to get on I70. At the time, I70 only went as far as the border Of Utah. We continued west on Route 6 in Utah. Route 6 took us a little south where we ran into a small detour at Cisco, Utah. The detour was set up to take us around the filming site. We stopped and took several slide photos of the cars, bulldozers, stars and props. We were able to talk to some of the film crew including one of the helicopter pilots. Before the final crash scene was filmed, a sudden desert thunderstorm storm blew in. We were running across an empty lot heading back to our car for cover. While we were running, my mom stepped on a board with a nail sticking out and it went up into het foot. She passed out and my dad carried her over to the car. We were able to contact someone from the film crew and they got the set doctor to come to her to administer treatment. My dad was very upset and decided to leave about an hour before the crash seen was filmed. Facts: Most of the high speed scenes were actually film at around 40mph and were sped up for the movie. This came directly from the helicopter pilot at the scene. The car that crashed into the bulldozer was a 1967 Camaro. No hubcaps, just silver paint in the Wheels. Camaro emblem in side was painted over with white paint. The roof of the Camaro had lead plates fastened to the roof to make the car blow outward instead of up. The Camaro was loaded with dynamite for the explosion. The Camaro was towed into the bulldozers at approximately 45mph, not 80mph. There is not enough length to that road to get a tow car up to 80mph! The bulldozers had wooden ramps placed in front Of then to direct the crash into the strongest part of the bulldozers. In the movie, after the crash, from behind the bulldozers, if you look carefully you can see the tow cable recoil away from the bulldozers back toward the tow car. Cisco, Utah is now a ghost town with 0 to 1 resident. Cisco, Utah was also used in scenes from the movies Pontiac Moon and Thelma & Louise. Some of the photos that we took were used in a book by Robert Genat regarding the E Body Mopar cars. PICTURES OF THE CRASH SCENE WILL BE POSTED SOON! toward the tow car.
rjluna2 ◊ 2011-08-17 15:40	An interesting story you have there
maxman ◊ 2012-08-16 22:40	Gurragas wrote Yes, why wreck a mopar when there is GM ? Chrysler demanded that the cars be returned after filming.
Moester ◊ 2012-08-22 01:25	I'm a BIG fan of Dodge muscle cars and I'm a BIG fan of Mopars. Love this Challenger too!
mike962 ◊ 2013-06-17 10:46	REPALCEMENT -- Last edit: 2013-06-17 10:46:50
antp ◊ 2013-06-17 17:43	It is slightly blurry, there should be a more sharp view somewhere in the movie
mike962 ◊ 2013-06-19 21:15	antp wrote Yes... but not one "in action"? (though that it often leads to blur...) this ???
antp ◊ 2013-06-20 17:53	It is missing a part of the front... it is sometimes difficult to chose a good shot for a major vehicle I'll use the previous pic that you posted then -- Last edit: 2013-06-20 17:54:14
XeroRamCharger ◊ 2013-07-02 05:56	Best Mopar Movie. and they didn't wreck the car. Now a days, movies just keep blowing them up and destroying them. Maybe because reproduction body shells are now available.
Cycolac Fan ◊ 2014-10-01 01:34	Agree with earlier comment, every interview I've seen says no 426 Hemi car was used in this version of the film. In the remake - maybe.
Kokolo123 ◊ 2015-07-16 11:11	MaindrianPace wrote ... The link from motortrend is broken here. Here I found the video of Barry Newman's interview. -- Last edit: 2015-07-16 11:51:48 (Lateef)
hobbyDB ◊ 2015-07-21 18:18	I wish they made two other versions of this model… covered in dirt and spoiler alert post-crash! Link to "www.hobbydb.com"
Classics fan ◊ 2016-02-25 00:19	Man, I love her!!! Everybody asks me why I like the old model more than the new one... She's just beautiful... I wish that someday I'll have one.
Ingo ◊ 2016-02-25 00:23	Classics fan wrote Man, I love her!!! Everybody asks me why I like the old model more than the new one... She's just beautiful... I wish that someday I'll have one. Do you mean with "her" the car? Not /vehicle.php?id=7725 ?
shlc647 ◊ 2016-02-25 00:24	I really want one of these so badly.
Classics fan ◊ 2016-02-25 00:36	Here are some pics from the original full lenght movie:
Classics fan ◊ 2016-02-25 00:39	ingo wrote Do you mean with "her" the car? Not /vehicle.php?id=7725 ? She's not bad, but I mean the car...
oddsox ◊ 2016-07-14 01:18	1970 Challenger R/T w/ "SuperSoul" Police Escape Package -- Last edit: 2016-07-14 05:15:26
stlouiskev ◊ 2017-07-05 12:07	This car is the movie! Terrific sounds, purrs and roars it makes, just awesome.
andymed ◊ 2017-08-23 23:00	MoabUtMan wrote I was at the site of the crash into the bulldozers during the filming of Vanishing Point. Here are some details. We were on a 1 month vacation in July of 1970, to the western part of the Great USA. We travelled from Chicago Illinois and headed south to get on I70. At the time, I70 only went as far as the border Of Utah. We continued west on Route 6 in Utah. Route 6 took us a little south where we ran into a small detour at Cisco, Utah. The detour was set up to take us around the filming site. We stopped and took several slide photos of the cars, bulldozers, stars and props. We were able to talk to some of the film crew including one of the helicopter pilots. Before the final crash scene was filmed, a sudden desert thunderstorm storm blew in. We were running across an empty lot heading back to our car for cover. While we were running, my mom stepped on a board with a nail sticking out and it went up into het foot. She passed out and my dad carried her over to the car. We were able to contact someone from the film crew and they got the set doctor to come to her to administer treatment. My dad was very upset and decided to leave about an hour before the crash seen was filmed. Facts: Most of the high speed scenes were actually film at around 40mph and were sped up for the movie. This came directly from the helicopter pilot at the scene. The car that crashed into the bulldozer was a 1967 Camaro. No hubcaps, just silver paint in the Wheels. Camaro emblem in side was painted over with white paint. The roof of the Camaro had lead plates fastened to the roof to make the car blow outward instead of up. The Camaro was loaded with dynamite for the explosion. The Camaro was towed into the bulldozers at approximately 45mph, not 80mph. There is not enough length to that road to get a tow car up to 80mph! The bulldozers had wooden ramps placed in front Of then to direct the crash into the strongest part of the bulldozers. In the movie, after the crash, from behind the bulldozers, if you look carefully you can see the tow cable recoil away from the bulldozers back toward the tow car. Cisco, Utah is now a ghost town with 0 to 1 resident. Cisco, Utah was also used in scenes from the movies Pontiac Moon and Thelma & Louise. Some of the photos that we took were used in a book by Robert Genat regarding the E Body Mopar cars. PICTURES OF THE CRASH SCENE WILL BE POSTED SOON! toward the tow car.
andymed ◊ 2017-08-23 23:06	Hi, Really interested in the fact that you were actually at the Film set of the film.I have so many questions to ask.It would be nice to see some of your pictures,and would like to chat further Andymed
mike962 ◊ 2018-02-16 20:14	vanpoint1 wrote Lots of you people are getting your facts jumbled. I've seen this move well-over 100x, and NEVER in the original 1971 version of this film was Kowalski's first name ever mentioned. However, in the 1997 made-for-t.v. remake starring Viggo Mortensen, they made the main-character's first name Jimmy. Also, regardless of what someone thinks they heard in an interview with Barry Newman, there was never a 426 Hemi 4spd. car used in this movie. 1x383 Magnum auto's and 3x440 6 pack 4spd's. just our of curiosoty I checked the sales adverts for 1970 Challanger so 383 or 440 are selling for 30 to 60.000 $ BUT original 426 HEMI are around 200.000 $ some are even 275.000 $ !!!! is it really that sought after ? https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars/1970/dodge/challenger/100915832 Link to "classics.autotrader.com" -- Last edit: 2018-02-16 20:18:55
lightninboy ◊ 2018-02-18 23:00	Well, 426 Hemis were less common than 383s and 440s. Sort of a drag-racing legend. And underrated, some people say.
mike962 ◊ 2018-03-03 22:50	lightninboy wrote Well, 426 Hemis were less common than 383s and 440s. Sort of a drag-racing legend. And underrated, some people say. here the 426 HEMI had it's ass kicked by the 440 Magnum... granted it was catching up towards the end https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1blkBrkXXi8 -- Last edit: 2018-03-03 23:01:30
train68 ◊ 2018-03-29 17:45	This Challenger is also featured in Terminal Velocity.
ggj ◊ 2019-08-04 21:11	This car wasn't supercharged at all. Not in real life and not in the story. The reason why people say it is because in the beginning Kowalski says that it's "hopped up to over 160" and the police say on the radio that 'We have reasons to believe it is supercharged" because Kowalski is such a fast driver.
Nick37 ◊ 2019-09-12 18:42	According to the commentary for "Vanishing Point," Director Richard C. Sarafian said they used even more Challengers than that. He said in total, they were given eight Challengers for filming, and they went through seven of them in total. Part of the reason, Sarafian said, was because the Challenger was a great car, but they were putting it through things during filming that it just wasn't built for. Sarafian said they only made special modifications to one, the Challenger used for the jump when Kowalski is trying to lose the second Colorado State trooper on the motorcycle. They added special shocks for it for the jump. As the Challengers became unusable, they would take the parts and use them as needed on the remaining Challengers, until they were down to their last one. At one point, they even had to call the police. According to Sarafian, at one point someone traveling with them stole that last Challenger but was caught by authorities and the vehicle was recovered to continue filming. I'm not surprised Barry Newman likes the newer Challenger over the older one, as the newer Challengers and Chargers are built for speed and comfort. I own an '08 Charger, and I love it. It's the basic sedan model, but it has plenty of speed, and it's a very comfortable car to drive in. I bought it with 30,000 miles on it, and it now has 183,000 miles and is still going strong. I imagine it was a long, hot shoot filming in the stock 70 model, as they were filming in the heat in Nevada and California. Newman's character always has the windows down in every scene, so no air conditioning comfort during the shoot.
VP714ever ◊ 2020-12-21 18:54	I've been a huge fan of the film for years, it's my favorite of all time and Challenger is also my favorite car of all time. I am always curious to know more about both the film and the car, and based on everything i could find about eight Challengers used in the film over the years, including from sites like these, i'm almost 100 % sure that seven of them were 440 Magnums, and of course one was 383 automatic. Based on what's been mentioned in some behind the scenes stories and interviews, all 440's were damaged one way or another during filming, and it seems that even though it was the only Challenger which was left undamaged, that 383 also went through some shit. It was used as camera car so it was possibly driven by Barry Newman when he had to drive the car equipped with cameras off the road to avoid some moron who went through the blockade while they were filming. Based on what Sarafian said the last Challenger they had was stolen by some "lady of the night" prior to filming the Hitchhiker scene but police managed to catch her and bring the car back. If you pay attention during that scene, you'll see that car has power windows, and some other fans have said it could mean that it's 383 automatic. And as it's well known, Cary Loftin used the 383 to pull the Camaro into the bulldozers, but i think it was also (maybe) used in the desert scene when Kowalski is listening to Super Soul and when he takes of his vest. Reason why i think that is because some have said how you can see the green paint in dents of the car in that scene, and i read how 383 they had was originally green. Still, i would love to have any one of those. Sadly, Chrysler had to be bunch of assholes and crush all eight cars just because they didn't like the film. As much as i hate the '97 remake, at least all five Challengers and one of the two Chargers used in that film did survive and still exist. Funny enough, in that film the car is 426 Hemi, even though the ones they used for filming were all 440 Magnums.

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1970 Dodge Challenger R/T

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T in Vanishing Point, Movie, 1971

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