As specialties go, launching a General Lee Dodge Charger about 25 feet into the air is certainly a well-defined one. Stunt driver Raymond Kohn recently launched his 1969 Charger for a crowd outside Detroit’s Cobo Center at the start of the yearly Autorama hot rod show, as reported by Super Street.
The setup includes a mock-up of a Hazzard County police car chasing the General Lee replica from The Dukes of Hazzard TV series through the streets with siren blaring. A truck with ramps placed strategically to provide the best view for the most people gives Kohn the way to get airborne. In the Detroit chase, the General Lee ran up the five-foot high ramp at 55 miles an hour. The car flew about 25 feet in the air and seemed to be flying straight, but in the middle of its trajectory, the front left side dipped and hit first — and hit hard.
When the crew ran to the car, they found Kohn was OK and got him out, waving a green flag to let the crowd know he was uninjured. “I feel great,” Kohn said. “I expected worse, it wasn’t too bad.”
Kohn uses Chargers painted like the General Lee and rigged for both jumps and landings to let the car take the brunt of landings instead of Kohn’s back. It sounds like he goes through quite a few cars because each one is only good for one or two jumps at most.
Kohn’s focus is on putting on a good show, but it’s clear he enjoys himself. Speaking to the Detroit Free Press, Kohn said, “It’s a cool feeling being in the air like that. It’s like a roller coaster ride. But in the end, it’s like the roller coaster derails.”
