Ecto-1

Background

In the 1984 film Ray Stantz buys the car for $4,800 and rattles off a long list of what it needs, from suspension and brakes to a steering box, transmission and new rings. Once rebuilt it is painted white with red trim, carries the company logo, and gets a roof full of gadgets whose purpose the films never explain; a pull-out rack made from the old ambulance gurney holds the proton packs in the back. The filmmakers had planned a black car but switched to white because black would be hard to see at night, and the black Miller-Meteor glimpsed at the start of the first film was only leased for that scene.

Three 1959 Miller-Meteors played the car; the third was bought after the second died during the shooting of Ghostbusters II, where the overhauled car is renamed Ecto-1A. By Ghostbusters: Afterlife the car has a fold-flat rear door with an extendable gunner seat, so a Ghostbuster can fire a proton pack from the moving vehicle, and a Remote Trap Vehicle, a ghost trap on a radio-controlled car. Trevor Spengler gets the dilapidated car running again with his grandfather Egon's ghostly help, and in the post-credits scene Winston Zeddemore returns the fully restored Ecto-1 to the old firehouse.

Did You Know?

• A replica built for Universal Studios' 'Spooktacular' show sold at Barrett-Jackson in January 2010 for $80,000.
• Toy versions include AMT/Ertl's 1/25 Ecto-1A kit (1989), Polar Lights' 1/25 kit (2002) and Hot Wheels' 2010 Ecto-1.
• A cartoon episode mounts a proton cannon on the roof for use against giant-sized ghosts.