LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was fatally shot on a Las Vegas street, a key piece of evidence from that night remains and continues to draw fans from around the world.
The black 1996 BMW sedan driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight that carried Shakur on the night of Sept. 7, 1996, is now on display at Celebrity Cars Las Vegas.
For millions of people, the classic vehicle is a piece of music history tied to one of the most famous unsolved murders in the world.
“This is the actual car Tupac Shakur was shot in. Suge Knight was driving it at the time. It was a leased vehicle from Death Row Records. They brought it in from Los Angeles, and this was the actual vehicle at Koval and Flamingo,” said Celebrity Cars Las Vegas General Manager, Ryan Hamilton.
Shakur was a passenger sitting in the front seat of the BMW when, while stopped at the intersection near Koval and Flamingo Road, another vehicle pulled up alongside Knight and Shakur and opened fire. Shakur was struck four times.
“You can see on the inside of the door where it was repaired and the weld marks where the bullet holes are, so they are definitely they’re it just they’ve cleaned it up on the outside,” said Hamilton.
The BMW’s history did not end with the shooting.
Hamilton says after the initial investigation, the vehicle was sent back to Los Angeles, repaired and eventually returned to circulation.
“This is how we got it, believe it or not it actually went into circulation so after the shooting it was sent back to Los Angeles. The vehicle was fixed and someone was actually driving it, didn’t even know they were driving it. Somebody actually figured out what the car was and then restored it, had the wheels remade for the car that were the actual wheels that came with it and then brought it to us,” Hamilton added.
Today, the vehicle, which still runs, sits fully restored inside the Celebrity Cars showroom. However, its connection to Shakur has made the vehicle much more than a classic car.
The renewed attention surrounding the investigation and trial into Shakur’s killing has brought even more interest to the vehicle.
“It’s just a good marketing tool for us. Plenty of people just come in from all over the world. We got people, just last week somebody from Ireland, another one from Scotland. We get probably once a week somebody comes in who’s got a Tupac T-shirt on, and they are just huge fans,” Hamilton said.
Nearly three decades after the shooting, the BMW remains on display in Las Vegas listed at $1.75 million.