Summary
Highlights
The Ecto-1's base model is a 1959 series 62 Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulance, a rare vehicle with only 200 units produced for medical use.
The Ecto-1 was converted from a gold-painted ambulance version of the Cadillac, not the black hearse initially shown in the film.
The Ecto-1 is a massive vehicle, measuring 21 feet long, 8 feet wide, and weighing over three tons, making it one of the largest production passenger cars ever made.
The car features the largest tail fins ever to appear on any production car, specifically those from the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado.
Powering the Ecto-1 is a 390 cubic inch engine providing 345 horsepower and 435 foot-pounds of torque, enabling it to move its substantial weight effectively.
The Ecto-1 is equipped with two 49-inch Code 3 Force 4 XL light bars with blue domes and 11-inch chrome speaker housings, along with Grimes brand strobe lights on the front bumper, typically used on aircraft.
The distinctive siren sound of the Ecto-1 was not produced by its roof-mounted Federal C5GB mechanical siren but was a studio-created sound effect added in post-production.
The rarity of the 1959 Cadillac ambulance base model is highlighted by a fan-made Ecto-1 replica selling for $200,000 at a Barrett-Jackson auction in 2021.
After decades of neglect and deterioration, the original Ecto-1 underwent a complete and accurate restoration in 2009 by Cinema Vehicle Services of LA, bringing it back to its 1984 on-screen condition.
The fully restored original Ecto-1 was used to promote the 2009 Ghostbusters video game at E3 and remains owned by Sony Pictures Studios today.