White 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Is a Rare and Stunning Tribute to "Vanishing Point"

It appeared in popular TV series such as "Miami Vice" and "NCIS," and it was driven in movies like "The Bucket List," "Terminal Velocity," and "Death Proof." More importantly, it was the primary automotive star in the 1971 car chase film "Vanishing Point."

The movie follows ex-policeman and race driver Kowalski delivering a muscle car from Denver, Colorado, to California. He repeatedly evades the authorities with help from a blind disc jockey who listens to the police radio frequency and people he meets along the way. He's driving a white 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T fitted with a supercharged, 440-cubic-inch "Magnum" V8 engine. Although he reaches California in time for delivery, Kowalski smashes into a roadblock, destroying the Challenger in an explosion.

Premiered in January 1971, "Vanishing Point" did not receive positive reviews in the US at first, but it was a commercial success in Europe. Following a re-release on a double bill with "The French Connection," the film became a cult classic and inspired Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" and Steven Spielberg's "Bady Driver." The former also featured a white 1970 Challenger.

Unlike most movie cars, Kowalski's Challenger is actually a stock production car. Sure, the story says the 440 RB is supercharged, but it was not. However, the Challenger was fitted with one tiny feature that set it apart from its factory siblings. For camera work reasons, the muscle car was equipped with a larger, more rectangular driver-side mirror. All told, it takes only a replacement mirror and a license plate number saying "OA 5599" to create a tribute car.

The white 1970 Challenger you see here is one of them. Created by Nick Panaritis of YouTube's "Nick's Garage," the Mopar also rocks the correct mirror replacement and a 440 "Magnum" under the hood. It's also a fully-fledged R/T model and features a four-speed manual gearbox with a pistol-grip shifter, so it's as accurate as "Vanishing Point" replicas get.

But the car itself is spectacular even if you're not into "Vanishing Point." That's because it's a fully restored example still sporting most of its factory-correct components. The 440 under the hood is not the numbers-matching unit, but it's equipped with a period-correct four-barrel carburetor and the original air cleaner and intake manifold. Moreover, the numbers-matching V8 still exists, and Nick wants to rebuild it and display it alongside the car.

But if you're a fan of Kowalski and his high-speed antics, you're in for a treat in the video below. Because Nick not only showcases the muscle car but also takes it for a spin, doing burnouts and pushing the gas pedal to the metal in the process. The fun starts at the six-minute mark.

One more thing: this 1970 Challenger is also a rare gem. Of the 76,935 units built that year, only 18,512 left the factory with the R/T package. Only 2,802 got the four-barrel 440 V8, and just 916 examples were ordered with the four-speed manual.