Dodge Monaco – The Car’s The Star

“We’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses. Hit it.” First of all, before we get into this, if you haven’t seen The Blues Brothers then please do so immediately, you can thank us later. The film, based upon a Saturday Night Live sketch, tells the story of two brothers who, with the help of their old rhythm and blues band and an ex-police Dodge Monaco, set about trying to raise enough money to save the church in which they grew up by putting on a gig.

This is not a movie review site, however, and so what we are specifically interested in as far as the film is concerned is its star car – a 1974 Dodge Monaco that the Blues Brothers drive. Nicknamed the Bluesmobile, the car, as the film’s story goes, is an ex Mount Prospect Illinois police patrol car that Elwood Blues (played by Dan Aykroyd) picked up at a police auction before heading to collect his brother Jake (played by the late, great John Belushi) – who has just been released from prison following a three year stint – before setting a plan in motion to raise $5,000.

Upon seeing the Monaco Jake is clearly unimpressed and immediately asks what happened to the old Bluesmobile – a Cadillac – to which Elwood explains he traded it for a microphone. Unhappy with the new car Jake flat out tells his brother that he doesn’t like it. Elwood then immediately floors it and proceeds to spectacularly jump a drawbridge, proving that the car is, in fact, incredibly capable. Belushi, in a wonderful piece of dead pan delivery, then exclaims “car’s got a lot of pick up”.

Elwood goes on to explain that their particular Dodge Monaco, owing to the fact that it’s a police model, has been modified somewhat from stock, most notably with a much more powerful engine. He proclaims “It’s got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it’s got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It’s a model made before catalytic converters so it’ll run good on regular gas”, assuaging his brother’s doubts about the car as a replacement Bluesmobile.

Spanning five generations from ’65 to ’92 the front-engined, rear wheel-drive Monaco started life as Dodge’s full-size flagship model. Initially offered with a 383cu in V8 with four barrel carburettors as standard the first Monacos produced around 325bhp. The car was available in a number of different body styles too which included a four-door saloon and hard top, as well as a two-door hardtop, estate and convertible that was only available in Canada. Larger engines were also offered for those who wanted a little extra oomph, including the 440 cubic inch “cop motor” referenced in the film.

The Dodge Monaco was completely redesigned for its third incarnation and the third gen ’74 model used in The Blues Brothers was in actual fact 13 ’74 models, all of which were used police cars purchased from the California Highway Patrol and dolled up to look like the Bluesmobile Mount Prospect cruiser. Different cars were tooled differently depending on the scene in which they were used including one that was rigged to fall apart completely when the Blues Brothers arrive at the Cook County Building at the climax of the film having driven the car literally to destruction.

The story goes that the production team had a body shop running 24/7 to look after all of the vehicles used during filming and judging by the insane amount of cars used in the climactic chase we can believe it. When the film was released it held the record for the most amount of cars destroyed with over 100 wrecked by the time the final “cut!” was called by director John Landis.

The Dodge Monaco Bluesmobile goes on to feature heavily in the film in somewhat of a starring role, taking part in numerous high speed chases and incredible manoeuvrers including an excellent scene in a shopping centre and culminating in the final chase sequence whereby the Blues Brothers head to Chicago after the band’s performance in order to pay the property taxes on the orphanage where they were raised, hotly pursued by what appears to be the entire Illinois state police force and a bunch of Neo Nazis. Like we said, if you haven’t watched it yet, stick it on now. It’s a classic for music fans and petrol heads alike.

The Dodge Monaco wasn’t a particularly innovative car, nor was it pretty by any stretch, but that’s perhaps what makes it so appealing to watch. Seeing this souped-up every day saloon tearing up the streets and evading police in a barrage of screeching tyres and V8 rumble will never get old.

Thanks in part to the success of The Blues Brothers the Dodge Monaco is now a rather collectible classic, especially the third generation ’74 to ’77 cars and if we had one we would almost certainly fit bull bars to the front and a giant speaker on the roof. It would be rude not to. “What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?”

For your chance to purchase a Bluesmobile, keep an eye on our listings to find a Dodge Monaco for sale.