As one would expect, the most prominent muscle car in the series is Jim’s 1970 Plymouth Duster. 1970 was the first model year for the car, which was a stylish, two-door version of Plymouth’s A-body compact Valiant model. While the standard engines were pedestrian six-bangers, Dusters could be optioned with the potent 340 four-barrel V8 — like the series’ car.

The main protagonists of the show: Jim Ellis and his 1970 Plymouth Duster 340. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

Designed to compete in the marketplace with the Ford Maverick, Chevrolet Nova, and AMC Hornet, the Duster shared the Valiant’s front end, but was blessed with bespoke coupe styling from the windshield back.

The design featured a long hood/short deck configuration as was common amongst muscle cars of the time, and added a graceful, semi-fastback treatment to the rear of the greenhouse to add a bit of pizzaz.

The Mopar features heavily throughout the show, and even gives the series its title. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max)

Two Duster trims were available in 1970, and they included a base, granny-car that could be equipped with either a 198 cubic-inch Slant Six, a 225 inch Slant Six, or Chrysler’s venerable 318 cube V8, and the Duster 340 model, which, (surprise!) featured Mother Mopar’s 340 cubic-inch V8 mill.

In Duster 340 configuration, the motor came equipped with 10.5:1 compression, high-flow cylinder heads, a forged crankshaft, a high-performance camshaft, a four-barrel Carter AVS carburetor, a high-flow, dual-plane intake manifold, a 2 ¼-inch dual exhaust, and a heavy-duty 8 ¾-inch rear. Power at the crank was a more-than-adequate 275 horsepower at 5,000 rpm and 340 lb-ft of torque at a low 3,200 rpm.

Factory options on Jim’s 340 include side stripes with engine callout, Rally wheels, and left and right chrome mirrors. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

With a four-speed all-synchro manual transmission, heavy-duty suspension including an .87-inch front torsion bar and .88-inch front sway bar, E-70 x 14-inch Goodyear Polyglas rubber, 5.5-inch steel Rallye wheels, front disc brakes, and a six-leaf rear spring setup, the Duster 340 handled as well as it accelerated.

Period testing of a Duster 340 with a 3.91:1 rear ratio revealed a 14.09-second quarter mile at 99.77 mph. Quite a missile for a low $3,455 price tag.

Non-OEM features of Jim’s car include a blacked-out hood with massive induction scoops and hold-down pins, a Go-Wing, and a CB radio with whip antenna. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

Jim’s 340 is draped in E5 Rallye Red paint over a black vinyl interior, and features some original options such as matte black side stripes with 340 callout, left and right remote chrome mirrors, W21 Rallye wheels with beauty rings and center cones, and a Hurst T-handle shifter. Non-standard features of Jim’s car include a blacked-out hood with massive induction scoops and hold-down pins, a rear decklid “Go-Wing,” an 8-track tape player, and a CB radio with a long, whip antenna.

Jim doesn’t seem to ever go easy on the car in the show, doing routine burnouts, panic stops, and a whole bunch of fishtailing and drifting during multiple high-speed pursuits throughout the first eight episodes.

The Duster is driven hard throughout the show, with Jim seemingly taking every turn as if he was at a race track. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

It’s a good thing then that the production utilized one pristine “hero car” for beauty shots and close-ups, and three stunt cars to absorb all the damage incurred during the rough stuff. As an aside, the stunt cars were all apparently equipped with automatic transmissions versus the four-speed in the hero car, to make it easier on the stunt drivers during chase sequences and the like.

And speaking of chases, the very first episode features a memorable one between Jim in the Duster and two baddies driving one of my favorite offbeat muscle cars from the period: the 1968 AMC AMX.

Duster versus AMX. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

The AMX was a low-price, two-door, two seat muscle/sports car based on a shortened Javelin platform. With the optional top-of-the-line engine, the AMC 390 cubic-inch V8, good for 315 horses and a stump-pulling 425 lb-ft of twist, mated to a Borg-Warner T10 four-speed manual, the AMX offered the best bang-for-the-buck in the American automotive world at the time.

A “Go-Package” option further enhanced performance with power-assisted front disc brakes, a “Twin Grip” diff, heavy-duty suspension with sway bars, E70 x 14 tires on 6-inch steelies, and other niceties.

The AMX’s styling was love-or-hate with its flying buttress rear. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

The styling was love-it-or hate it, with some finding it a perfectly balanced design, while others found it too compact-looking. It nonetheless looked like nothing else on the market, with the raked, flying buttress treatment to the rear quarters.

The car in the show is painted in Blazer Blue Metallic, a midnight blue OEM color, over a black interior, and features a non-original hood with shark gill vents in the raised center bulge.

Oh, how I wish Hollywood would stop destroying classic cars … (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

After a raucous chase, the AMX sadly meets a grisly demise, when it launches high in the air off an embankment, and lands on its roof. Why, oh why, won’t Hollywood stop the madness of destroying rare cars?

Interestingly, this chase sequence is replicated in stop-motion animation featuring scale models of the Duster and AMX during the show’s opening credit sequence at the start of each episode.

A portion of the Duster/AMX chase is replicated using model cars and stop-motion animation in the title sequence. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

Another superb Mopar featured in the show is a 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II sedan, driven by Jim’s FBI handler, Agent Nina Hayes, portrayed by Rachel Hilson.

One of the longest running cars in the Plymouth line spanning some 16 years of continuous production, the Belvedere was first launched in 1951 as a full-size, two-door hardtop variant of the Plymouth Cranbrook. By 1966 though, the Belvedere had become a standalone model in the lineup and had been redesigned as an intermediate-sized car.

The show’s 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

No less than six powertrains were available in the Belvedere in 1966, ranging from the aforementioned 225 Slant Six, all the way to the legendary 426 Hemi.

We never get a look under the hood of Agent Hayes’ car, but judging by the engine’s deep, bassy sound it is clearly a V8, which means it is packing a 273, 318, 361, 383 or 426 Hemi lump. Of course, an FBI car with a Hemi would be a rarity, even in the 1970s.

Nina Hayes’ partner, Agent Awan Bitsui (Asivak Koostachin) chills on the Belvedere. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

What we can discern in the show is that the car is painted in Plymouth’s Light Blue Metallic, a color that accentuates the Belvedere’s interesting concave flank sheet metal, over a tan interior.

Agent Hayes never drives her Belvedere II extremely hard, but there are a few scenes where the car is traveling at decently high speed on rural highways with that unknown V8 singing.

One episode of the series focuses on Howard Hughes’ famous 1936 Lincoln Model K V12 “Aero-Mobile” limousine. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max.)

One episode in particular focuses on a legendary car from an era way before the series’ setting.

In episode four, entited Criminalus Velocitus Super-Sonicus, Jim and Saxton’s son, Royce, played by Benjamin Charles Watson, are tasked by Saxton to deliver Howard Hughes’ famous 1936 Lincoln Model K V12 “Aero-Mobile” limousine to a warehouse.

A replica of Hughes’ car was painstakingly created. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max)

In real life, Hughes had heavily modified the car, transforming it into a Boat Tail Speedster, so named for the shape of its rear bodywork, to be used as a high-speed camera car for his film productions. Other custom touches included the removal of every non-essential component for weight savings, and improvements to the engine to increase its output.

For the show, a replica of Hughes’ car was painstakingly created, using the original Aero-Mobile, which still exists and was sold at auction for seven figures in 2024, as a reference. The filmed replica looks extraordinary with its sapphire blue paint, and bare aluminum boat-tail modification.

Amazing cars seemingly dot every corner of the landscape in Duster. (Photo courtesy of HBO Max)

Other sublime cars that appear in the show, either driven by ancillary characters or just dotting the landscape, include a 1971 BMW Bavaria, a ’68 Chevy II Nova, a ’68 Firebird, a ’71 Dodge Charger, and many, many more.

Though Duster can be a bit of a chore to get through, the assemblage of fabulous vehicles make it a must watch for any Mopar or classic muscle car fan. Have you seen it yet?