Ford Bronco used in OJ Simpson’s infamous car chase to go on sale for $1.5m

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OJ Simpson’s Ford Bronco, used in his infamous 1994 slow-speed car chase, may soon be going up for sale again following his death.

Simpson died aged 76 last Wednesday at his home in Las Vegas after a battle with prostate cancer.

The white Bronco was part of one of the most notorious episodes in American history.

On 17 June 1994, Simpson fled with his friend Al Cowlings in the vehicle after he was ordered to surrender to police five days after the brutal stabbings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman at her Los Angeles home.

The 90-minute chase involving the NFL star, who was the prime suspect in the murders, was broadcast live on TV, with 95 million viewers tuning in to watch the spectacle while supporters flocked to the road to cheer him on.

After 60 miles, the chase came to an ending at Simpson’s mansion where he was arrested and charged with the murders.

Now, 30 years on from the murders and days after Simpson’s death, the current owners of the Bronco said they are seeking to put the vehicle back on the market – and are hoping to make at least $1.5m through a public or private sale.

Its three owners – Simpson’s former agent, Michael Gilbert, and two friends of its original owner, Mr Cowlings – told Cllct that they had seen sudden spikes in interest in the infamous vehicle in light of Simpson’s death.

“Before OJ passed, we had always thought this was going to be the year we were going to sell because it’s the 30th anniversary,” Mr Gilbert told the outlet.

“Who knows if we are all going to be around for the 35th or the 40th?”

Al Cowlings, with OJ Simpson hiding, drives a white Ford Bronco as they lead police on a two-county chase along the northbound 405 Freeway towards Simpson’s home, June 17, 1994, in Los Angeles (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Al Cowlings, with OJ Simpson hiding, drives a white Ford Bronco as they lead police on a two-county chase along the northbound 405 Freeway towards Simpson’s home, June 17, 1994, in Los Angeles (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Following the infamous car chase, Mr Cowlings agreed to sell the Bronco for $75,000 to a celebrity memorabilia shop in Las Vegas, according to Cllct.

But after he allegedly found out that it would be used to drive tourists around, purportedly to make stops at sites linked to the double murders, he sold it to the three current owners instead for the same price. Other reports meamwhile suggest that the car was sold for $200,000.

“They were going to re-enact the chase with the Bronco and then take people to Nicole’s grave,” Mr Gilbert told ESPN back in 2016.

“The trial hadn’t taken place yet, and we didn’t want people thinking anyone associated with OJ did this.”

Mr Gilbet told Cllct that he’s had some bizarre encounters with the vehicle since owning it, such as when he shocked a man who was helping him jumpstart the car after the battery died.

The chase led to the eventual arrest of the former NFL star (FOX)
The chase led to the eventual arrest of the former NFL star (FOX)

“This guy asked me, ‘How often do you get asked if that’s OJ’s Bronco?’” Mr Gilbert told the outlet.

“After he helped me jump it, I told him that it was, in fact, the white Ford Bronco from the freeway chase. I Googled and brought up the famous pictures of the Bronco, zoomed in and compared the license plates. He was shocked.”

Mr Gilbert said that he kept the SUV at his home for a few years until his wife told him she “wanted her parking spot back”.

The infamous OJ Simpson car chase was watched by millions in 1994 (AFP via Getty Images)
The infamous OJ Simpson car chase was watched by millions in 1994 (AFP via Getty Images)

The owners then gave the Bronco on loan to the Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, where it is currently parked next to other infamous vehicles including serial killer Ted Bundy’s 1968 Volkswagen Beetle.

The Bronco used in the car chase is often mistaken for a separate Ford Bronco owned by Simpson.

That Bronco was seized by police after blood was found inside.

Simpson was acquitted of the two murders at the so-called “trial of the century” but was later found liable for the killings in a civil trial.