 The ambulance used in the movie is the actual ambulance that  Hal Needham (qv) and Brock Yates (qv) souped up and raced in the  real Cannonball Run. It had been modified with a HEMI engine that  made it go up to 145 mph and was equipped with four gas filler holes  so that the required 90 gallons could be pumped quickly. Needham and  Yates didnt actually win the race (the transmission blew in Palm  Springs) so Needham kept it in storage for several years until the  time came to make this film. After the movie, he gave it to a church  charity which raised a good deal of money auctioning it off.