The ‘General Lee’, masking as a Fiat 500L was spotted this morning parked close to our hotel for this week’s BMW Italian Open in suburban Turin.

And unlike his much bigger brother, the Dodge Charger, this car proudly boasts – Made in Italy as you can see from the snaps hereunder.

The real ‘General Lee’ is the Dodge Charger driven by the Duke cousins Bo and Luke in the hit TV series, The Dukes of Hazard.

It is known for the chases and stunts, especially high jumps, in almost every episode, and for having the doors welded shut, leaving the Dukes to climb in and out through the windows. The car appears in every episode but one (“Mary Kaye’s Baby”).

The car’s name is a reference to the Confederate General Robert E. Lee and bears the Confederate flag on it’s roof and has a horn which plays the melody from the first line of the song Dixie.

And just a little background on the Fiat 500 – The car was produced by the Fiat between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dant Giacosa.

When launched as the Nuova (new) 500 in July 1957, it was a cheap and practical town car.

Measuring only 3 metres (10 feet) long, and originally powered by an appropriately-sized 479 cc two-cylinder, air-cooled engine, the 500 redefined the term “small car” and is considered one of the first city cars.

In 2007, the 50th anniversary of the 500’s launch, Fiat launched the new Fiat 500, stylistically inspired by the 500 but considerably heavier and larger, featuring a front-mounted engine and front-wheel drive.

* Click to enlarge photos.