The Wild Hummer H1 Tupac Bought Weeks Before His Death Is Up for Auction
Tupac Shakur’s taste in cars was anything but subtle, and few vehicles capture that better than his customised 1996 Hummer H1. The four door hard top pickup, widely described as the last vehicle he ever bought before his death in September 1996, is returning to the block with Bonhams Cars at its Scottsdale sale on 23 January 2026. For hip hop and truck fans alike, it is a time capsule from the final weeks of his life and is expected to fetch up to $450,000.
The Hummer Tupac Built For Himself
On paper, it is a 1996 Hummer H1 with a 6.5 litre turbo diesel V8, four speed automatic and full time 4WD. In reality, this truck is all attitude. Tupac’s spec includes oversized off road tyres, custom wheels, heavy duty diamond plate bumpers, a front brush guard with extra lights, a 12,000 pound winch and a roof mounted spotlight. Inside, there is cream leather over a surprisingly plush cabin, upgraded audio with a period Clarion head unit and CD changer, plus a Sony navigation system and even a PA with sirens and loudspeaker.
He bought it new in August 1996, roughly a month before he was shot in Las Vegas, and it was recorded in his estate as the last vehicle he purchased. That proximity to his death is a big part of why it has been treated as a rolling artefact of ’90s hip hop history ever since.
This is not the first time the truck has gone under the hammer. Back in 2016 it crossed the block at RR Auction and made headlines with a six figure result. Since then it has remained low mileage, with the odometer still showing only a little over ten thousand miles. Bonhams is marketing it as a one of one slice of pop culture with factory documents, history and a clear chain of ownership, and is guiding it into the mid to high six figure range. For context, that is collector Ferrari money for what started life as a military derived off roader.
From Desert War Rig To Silent Supertruck
What makes this H1 even more interesting today is how different it feels from the Hummer badge now. GM has resurrected the name on an all electric, four figure horsepower supertruck; drive the new model, as we did, and you get CrabWalk, Watts to Freedom launch control and near silent torque instead of rattly diesel clatter.
Tupac’s truck is the complete opposite: loud, crude, and unapologetically of its time. It is a snapshot of a very specific moment, when the original H1 and one of rap’s biggest stars were both at full volume.
