You have to acknowledge that Ghostbusters is maybe one of the best horror-comedies of all time. And with that said, they had the coolest props. Specifically, we’re referring to the Ecto-1! A super rad ghostbusting-mobile that revs to the rescue of our scientific heroes! The Ecto-1 has a lot of history behind it; it’s certainly a classic car. Would you like to know more?
What more is there to the Ecto-1?
The vehicle was a 1959 Cadillac chassis Miller-Meteor ambulance and hearse in one vehicle. There had been two used in the movie. Most folks would likely be more familiar with the post-transformation version. Leading up to the movie, the Ecto-1 was driven all around just for people to take notice. Who would have even noticed the adult film star, Ron Jeremy, as a extra stunned by the Ecto-1 tears up on the scene?!
If we’re going to be honest, the Ecto-1’s original model wasn’t all the rage back then. Only 400 units were built of a vehicle with a 320-horsepower, 6.3 liter V8 below the hood. The unfortunate part is that the car itself had weighed beyond 7,300 pounds. Therefore, it was not the easiest car to drive.
Another fun fact was that the Ecto-1 had a very different look in conception. The vehicle was supposedly going to be black, with purple, green and yellow details all around the vehicle. But during filming, it would not have looked as simple to distinguish from other bumps of the night. If you think that’s scary, the collaboration between former automakers Miller and Meteor is stunningly difficult to recreate.
Are you aware that the Ecto-1 itself had at one point almost phased out of existence? Were it not for a collective of committed fans, the vehicle wouldn’t really have that much prevalence in the world that we live in today. Check out the trailer for Ghostbusters: Afterlife below.