There is worldwide interest in a car tied to an infamous Las Vegas murder. The car Tupac Shakur was riding in when he was shot and killed in Las Vegas nearly 22 years ago is expected to fetch a price of $1.5 million.
Most people remember seeing the vehicle Shakur was riding in on Sept. 7, 1996, riddled with bullets just two hours after the rapper was involved a fight in the lobby of the MGM Grand. Shakur was in town for a Mike Tyson fight. Now the car is in the showroom at Celebrity Cars on Dean Martin Drive.
"He's a figure that people still talk about," said Ryan Hamilton of Celebrity Cars. "People that think he's alive even."
And it is Shakur's notoriety in life and death that makes what would normally be an eight or 10 thousand dollar car worth more than a million dollars. It was first leased by Death Row Records head Suge Knight, who was also a part of the melee at the MGM.
Las Vegas police impounded the car shortly after the shooting and later auctioned off. It has had a few owners before it was fully restored and Celebrity Cars obtained it from a collector. It is the first time the public has seen the car in years.
"We've had people fly in from across the county to see it," Hamilton said. "We've had people making offers on it from across the world like Europe and Dubai."
Of course, we know the buyer will be rich. But what else?
"I don't feel like its going to go to a serious collector. I think it's going to go to the type of guy who bought the Wu Tang album for $2.5 million."
Hamilton said the car might have been worth even more money if it still had the bullet holes. Interestingly enough, Hamilton said BMW made a slightly more expensive bullet proof model of the car that was available back then.
