Somewhere between Miami and Los Angeles, the most famous Ford Bronco in automotive history is on the lam.
The SUV, made famous when accused murderer OJ Simpson tried to make a getaway with long-time pal Al Cowlings behind the wheel, has made few public appearances over the past 20 years and has generally been kept under secret lock and key.
The two-door V8 drove into pop culture history on June 17, 1994, when Southern California news helicopters tailed it on the famed slow-speed chase.
Memorabilia collector Michael Kronick recalled attending an Elvis Presley estate auction in Las Vegas that day, 20 years ago Tuesday, and uttering: “We’ve got to have that truck.”
“I called my attorney,” Kronick told USA Today, “and I said, ‘We’ve got to have that truck. That’s going to be the most famous truck.’ ”
Kronick claims he had a deal with Cowlings to buy the SUV, but Simpson’s pal backed out at the last second.
The infamous wheels eventually were purchased by a friend of Simpson and Cowlings — porn producer Michael Pulwer.
For most of the years immediately following the chase and Pulwer’s $200,000 purchase, the Bronco was kept under wraps in a parking garage beneath the smut peddler’s luxury West LA condo.
“At one time, he was going to raffle it off,” said Stanley Loeb, who runs Fantasy World, Pulwer’s adult toy store in Las Vegas.
“But then he felt he wasn’t getting enough money for it.”
Since buying the Bronco, Pulwer has brought it out for only a few public appearances.
In May 2012, the SUV came to the Luxor hotel on The Strip, where it was used to hype the opening of a new sports memorabilia museum and exhibit.
Then six months later, the Bronco was spotted in Greenwich, Conn., and used as part of an art exhibit.
Pulwer, who now lives in Miami, could not be reached for comment.
A friend of Pulwer told USA Today the Bronco is not in Miami or LA, but declined to say exactly where it’s parked.
So, like Simpson was for several hours on June 17, 1994, the Bronco now appears to be in the wind.