Youtuber and automotive journalist Tony DeFeo, of Uncle Tony's Garage, has a project car that he calls "Bottle Rocket." What is the make and model of the car.

1. The name on the door: Bottle Rocket = Dodge Coronet

The most direct reporting ties the Bottle Rocket label to a Dodge Coronet: BangShift’s feature calls the project “the ‘Bottle Rocket’ Dodge Coronet” and describes it as a four-door sedan that has undergone DeFeo’s weight-loss program before receiving power upgrades ^[1]. That same outlet later documented the car at the track and again described it explicitly as the Bottle Rocket Coronet, reinforcing the make and model identification in event coverage ^[2].

2. What the sources actually show about the car’s configuration

Coverage does more than supply a name: BangShift’s later piece characterizes the Bottle Rocket as a stripped-down taxicab Dodge turned featherweight Mopar, packing a 318 small-block that “acts like a pissed-off 340,” with a four-speed transmission swap and a range of DeFeo’s custom tricks and tricks-of-the-trade ^[2]. The earlier feature likewise set the narrative of a four-door Coronet that has been lightened and is slated for a power-addition phase ^[1]. Those technical details are reported by BangShift and attributed to Uncle Tony’s Garage content and videos ^{[1] [2]}.

3. Who is calling it Bottle Rocket — and why that matters

The identification comes directly from coverage of Uncle Tony’s Garage projects and the Mopar community that follows Tony DeFeo; Uncle Tony’s Garage is presented as DeFeo’s platform for budget-oriented muscle car builds and commentary ^[3]. Forum and community threads referencing Uncle Tony’s Garage and DeFeo’s body of work confirm that the Bottle Rocket narrative circulates within the Mopar enthusiast ecosystem, which amplifies project nicknames and shorthand for builds ^{[4] [5]}. Those community echoes support the reporting but also indicate that the “Bottle Rocket” moniker is a project nickname rather than a factory designation.

4. Alternative viewpoints and reporting limits

There is no contradictory reporting in the provided sources that assigns a different make or model to the Bottle Rocket; the available material consistently calls it a Dodge Coronet ^{[1] [2]}. However, the reporting available here does not include primary documents such as VIN plates, registration, or an Uncle Tony’s Garage page explicitly titled “Bottle Rocket” with build sheets; therefore, while multiple secondary sources identify the car as a Dodge Coronet, the review is limited to published coverage and community discussion rather than original vehicle documentation ^{[1] [2] [4]}.

5. Context: why the model matters to the story

Calling it a Coronet matters because the Coronet is a classic Mopar platform familiar to the audience and explains the choice of a 318 small-block and a four-speed setup in an affordability-minded build; BangShift frames the Bottle Rocket as a featherweight Mopar project aimed at getting a four-door taxicab–sourced sedan onto the strip with punchy performance ^[2]. Uncle Tony’s brand — practical hot rod knowledge “geared towards the common working man” — colors how sources describe the car: a scrappy, economical Dodge Coronet refitted for fun and track duty rather than a concours restoration ^[3].

Conclusion

Taken together, the most reliable characterization available in the supplied reporting identifies the Bottle Rocket explicitly as a Dodge Coronet — a four-door Dodge sedan that Tony DeFeo and his followers have reworked into a lightweight, performance-focused project ^{[1] [2]}. The nickname “Bottle Rocket” is a project handle used across Uncle Tony’s Garage coverage and enthusiast reporting rather than a factory model name ^{[1] [2] [4]}.