the ghostbusters-inspired update brings interactive screens, paranormal sound effects, light shows, and a custom-built ecto-R1 to rivian's electric vehicles.

Iñaki Laguardia October 14, 2026 5 min

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RIVIAN BRINGS GHOSTBUSTERS TO ITS ELECTRIC VEHICLES

For Halloween 2026, Rivian is giving its electric vehicles an unexpected second career: hunting ghosts. The American automaker has teamed up with Sony Pictures to introduce a Ghostbusters-themed software experience that temporarily transforms its R1T, R1S, and R2 models into something resembling the franchise’s famous Ecto-1. Available through an over-the-air update from October 9 to November 2, the experience combines synchronized lighting, cinematic sound effects, redesigned digital interfaces, and interactive games. The collaboration takes Rivian’s annual Halloween tradition a step further, turning the technology already built into its vehicles into a rather elaborate tribute to the 1984 supernatural comedy.

The transformation begins with a dedicated Ghostbusters app, where a large red switch activates the experience. Once enabled, the vehicle can reproduce lighting and audio sequences inspired by the Ecto-1, Proton Pack, Ghost Trap, Slimer, and Peter Venkman. Its exterior LEDs flash in coordinated patterns, accompanied by sounds borrowed from the Ghostbusters universe. A motion-sensitive setting allows the car to react when someone approaches, making an otherwise ordinary driveway a potential scene of paranormal activity. Through Trick or Treat Mode, the vehicle can also greet Halloween visitors with music and lighting effects, controlled from the dashboard, smartphone, or compatible Apple Watch.

Rivian reimagines the Ghostbusters Ecto-1 as an electric SUV | all images courtesy of RivianMARSHMALLOW GHOSTS AND HIDDEN SURPRISES TAKE OVER THE SCREENS

Inside the cabin, the familiar Rivian interface receives its own supernatural intervention. Displays adopt a slime-green color scheme, while characters from the films appear in unexpected corners of the digital environment. An interactive scavenger hunt encourages passengers to explore different vehicle menus, including driving modes, security settings, side-camera views, and the energy application, in search of hidden ghosts. Discovering them unlocks animations and sounds, transforming routine vehicle controls into a digital playground. Even Rivian’s voice assistant participates, adopting a suitably unsettling personality and responding to requests for clues, sound effects, and exterior light performances.

For anyone who prefers marshmallows to apparitions, Rivian has also introduced ‘Mallow Mash,’ an arcade-style game in which players race against the clock to catch miniature Stay Puft marshmallow characters on the central touchscreen. The more elaborate features are reserved for when the vehicle is parked, although selected visual elements remain visible during normal driving. The experience illustrates how increasingly software-defined vehicles can acquire entirely new personalities without physical modifications. In this case, an electric car becomes an interactive entertainment device, temporarily trading its usual practical functions for something considerably less serious.

the custom Ecto-R1 features the franchise’s signature red graphicsTHE ECTO-R1 BRINGS THE GHOSTBUSTERS CAR INTO THE ELECTRIC ERA

Beyond the digital experience, Rivian’s Special Projects team has created the Ecto-R1, a physical reinterpretation of the Ghostbusters’ legendary Cadillac ambulance. Based on the R1S SUV, the vehicle recreates several recognizable details from the cinematic original while retaining Rivian’s contemporary design language. A white body is crossed by sweeping red graphics, with the franchise’s unmistakable ghost emblem appearing on the hood and doors. Silver-finished wheels reference the original Cadillac’s chrome detailing, while a specially fabricated roof rack accommodates restored vintage emergency lights, spotlights, a radar dish, and equipment inspired by the film’s fictional ghost-hunting technology. The result is an electric tribute to one of cinema’s most recognizable vehicles, minus the considerable fuel consumption of its 1959 predecessor.

The Ecto-R1 also appears in a promotional film starring Bill Murray, who returns to his Ghostbusters roots in a campaign developed with filmmaker Gil Kenan. Several physical builds are making appearances at Rivian retail locations and Halloween events across the United States, bringing the collaboration beyond the digital dashboard. While the themed software will disappear after November 2, the project offers a glimpse of how automotive design is expanding beyond the permanent features of a vehicle. Exterior styling, sound, lighting, and digital interfaces can increasingly be orchestrated as a single experience. For Rivian, that means an electric SUV can become a familiar movie icon for a few weeks, before returning to its day job.

roof-mounted ghost-hunting equipment references the original movie car