Hang on, is this for real?
As a one-off it is. Rivian has taken one of its all-electric R1S SUVs and turned it into a replica of the classic Ghostbusters car, Ecto-1 (which was based on a Miller-Meteor ambulance, not a hearse as is sometimes erroneously reported).
The Ecto-R1 gets special paint in red and white with the famous ‘no ghosts’ logo on the doors.
There are also special 22-inch white-and-silver aero wheels and up top a roof rack full of sirens (with that classic Ghostbusters mournful wail siren sound), and other ghost-hunting paraphernalia. Even the R1S’s frunk has gotten in on the fun — it’s now a massive ghost trap.
You say it’s a one-off…
It is, but there is some Ghostbuster-y stuff that Rivian customers can have at home. From today (9 October), Rivian will be sending out an over-the-air software update for the big touchscreen in the centre of its R1 and R2 cars’ dashboards, which will allow you to call up a menu screen stuffed with Ghostbusters goodness.
This includes graphics, games (one where you have to capture multiple mini Stay-Puft Marshmallow men) and even a ‘possession’ mode which takes over the whole car, flashes the lights, sounds a siren and plays the classic Ray Parker Jnr Ghostbusters theme.
No question that everyone on your street will know exactly who to call… Sadly, the software has a use-by date — from 2 November, it’ll be all gone again as spooky season will be over.
Is that Bill Murray!?!?!?!
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It certainly is. Pete Venkman himself has returned to the (small) screen to help publicise the Rivian Ghostbusters campaign. Check out the video — featuring classic Ghostbuster antagonist Slimer.
Can I buy a Rivian yet in Ireland?
No. The company’s boss, RJ Scaringe, has confirmed that Europe is next on Rivian’s job list, and in the shapes of the mid-sized R2 and the compact R3 (with distinct Lancia Delta Integrale overtones) it has models that would compete nicely in Europe and Ireland (the full-sized R1 SUV and pickup are probably too big for us, really).
However, Rivian is still building up its production base in its home US market, and is still something of a minnow, in production terms, compared to Tesla, which is of course it’s biggest nominal rival.
Don’t hold your breath, basically, but it’s not impossible that Rivian might come here by 2028 or 2029.
That would be the 45th anniversary of the first Ghostbusters film…
It would be, wouldn’t it? You never know. Spookier things have happened.
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