22 Weird Facts About the 1976 Cyclops (The Big Bus)

Video Description

In 1976, Hollywood built one of the most insane practical effects ever put on screen — a 110-foot-long, 32-wheeled, road-worthy super bus known as the Cyclops for the disaster-parody film The Big Bus. This wasn’t a model, a matte painting, or movie magic. It was a real, drivable vehicle that could legally travel on public roads. In this deep-dive breakdown, we explore the true story behind the Cyclops, one of the most ambitious and forgotten feats of pre-CGI filmmaking. Built from two International trucks bolted together, the Cyclops weighed nearly 75 tons, required two drivers, and featured independent steering systems — all constructed without formal engineering blueprints. Automotive magazines like Motor Trend and Bus World documented the project in real time, confirming that this outrageous movie prop actually worked. We also examine how the Cyclops was designed to satirize 1970s disaster films, exaggerating futuristic excess with absurd features like a fictional nuclear reactor, onboard swimming pool, bowling alley, cocktail lounge, and automatic tire-changing systems. While many interiors were filmed on soundstages, key sections — including the cockpit and overhead lounge — were fully built into the real vehicle. Despite the massive effort and expense, The Big Bus flopped at the box office, leading to the Cyclops being scrapped and lost to history. Today, only photographs, magazine articles, and the film itself remain as evidence of this incredible engineering experiment. If you love forgotten movie props, practical effects history, insane vehicles, and behind-the-scenes Hollywood stories, this is a must-watch deep dive into a time when filmmakers built the impossible — for a joke.