Robert Downey Jr. is giving away six classic cars from his collection and you don’t even have to make a purchase or donation to go into the draw to win one of them.
The six cars consist of a 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE, a 1972 VW Bus, a 1966 Buick Riviera, a 1972 K-10 Pickup, a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, and a 1985 Chevrolet El Camino. The sweepstakes have a dedicated website, RDJ Dream Cars, where you can enter by making either a donation of as little as $10 to the Edward Charles Foundation and FootPrint Coalition, or you can purchase a piece of merchandise on the website for as little as $50.
For those who’d prefer not to make a purchase or donation, there is an alternative and free method to enter. All you will need to do is handprint a 4” x 6” postcard with your first name, last name, address, phone number, and email address and mail it to the address listed on the ‘Rules’ page of the website.
Each of the six cars is very cool. Starting with the Buick Riviera, its original 425 cubic-inch V8 has been replaced with a modern GM hybrid powertrain with vastly improved gas mileage. The exterior has also been overhauled and given a special shade of paint. Next is the 1972 VW Bus that has had its 1.1-liter air-cooled engine replaced with an EV West electric motor conversion and custom battery pack. It even has a solar-powered electric BBQ that slides out of the back.
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Perhaps the most desirable car in the collection is the matte blue 1965 Chevrolet Corvette that has had its 327 cubic-inch V8 replaced with a modern electric motor. It even has an interior that uses mushrooms in its construction. A wild two-tone 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280SE is also being given away and rocks a modern diesel engine that runs on biodiesel. The collection also includes a 1972 Chevrolet K10 pickup that’s been converted into an EV and last but not least, a 1985 Chevrolet El Camino where the 4.3-liter V6 has been dropped in favor of Chevy’s current 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder.
The sweepstakes opened on June 16 and will remain open until July 16, 2024. It is open to U.S., Canada (except Quebec), and UK residents.
“The goal of this yearlong sweepstakes is to raise significant funding to help environmental technologies to take hold in a more systemic way,” FootPrint Coalition managing director for Nonprofit + Science Rachel Kropa said. “There are a ton of dedicated folks working on the sweepstakes and featured in this show, and they’re only a tiny fraction of the millions of people who are actively volunteering their skills in restoring the planet. Our job is a race to curate the solutions that can change human systems in the timeliest manner – from research to rollout to new normal.”
