Just two weeks before Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) hits consoles, Rockstar Games brought the virtual world to real life. They teamed up with Los Angeles shop West Coast Customs to build six driveable cars from the upcoming game.
The team filmed these custom replicas driving around Miami with Leonida license plates to promote the big November 19 launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S.
The shop used traditional metalwork and composite body panels to build the cars. Fabricators used CNC machines to make custom wheels and structural parts, then finished each car with a unique paint job. The lineup includes in-game favorites like the Grotti Cheetah, Pegassi Tempesta, Progen Emerus, and Invetero Coquette.
Rockstar hasn’t revealed which real cars are under the custom bodies, but car fans in Miami quickly recognized the frames as a Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, and Chevrolet Corvette.
Each car brings a different part of car culture into the fictional state of Leonida. The wedge-shaped Grotti Cheetah is inspired by the 1980s Ferrari Testarossa, and the Pegassi Tempesta looks like a Lamborghini Huracán with Italian state police colors. The Albany Manana and Albany Buccaneer focus on American custom styles instead of European supercars.
The Manana has huge hi-riser wheels, popular in South Florida’s donk scene. The Buccaneer mixes classic Buick and Ford designs into a lowrider with a bold front grille.
The marketing event started in mid-October when the cars showed up at a local Shell gas station on the same day the final launch trailer was released. Rockstar later held official photoshoots at well-known Miami spots like the 1111 Lincoln Road parking garage and the old Miami Marine Stadium.
West Coast Customs did something similar in 2013, building a real Bravado Banshee from a Dodge Viper for the Grand Theft Auto 5 launch. Players can start preloading the huge 212GB game file on November 10.
