Real GTA 6 Cars Are Cruising Miami, Vice City Chairs Are on the Beach, and Miami-Dade Votes Today on a 'Vice City Airport'

Rockstar's GTA 6 marketing has left the screen and hit the streets of Miami. On October 15 and 16, a convoy of six to eight real cars, built to look like GTA 6 vehicles and wearing Leonida plates, was filmed cruising Miami and out to Key Biscayne. The star was a Lamborghini Huracán in full police livery. The same week, Vice City chairs and umbrellas went up on Miami Beach and a Vice City blimp was spotted over South Florida.

Not everyone is enjoying it. Today, October 20, Miami-Dade County's commission votes on whether the mayor's team can keep negotiating with Rockstar over a much bigger idea, including a Vice City arrival experience at Miami International Airport. Here is everything in Rockstar's Miami takeover so far, and the fight over how far it should go.

The GTA 6 cars on Miami's streets

The convoy was posted by Miami locals on social media, and GTA BOOM pieced together the line-up from the footage. Going by their matches, the cars include:

At one point the convoy pulled into a gas station while the Vice City blimp flew overhead, which is about as on-brand as Miami marketing gets. The base cars are best guesses from the footage, since GTA uses parody brands in-game and Rockstar has not published a list.

Several reports credit the builds to West Coast Customs, the shop Rockstar worked with in 2013 to build a real Bravado Banshee from a Dodge Viper for a GTA 5 contest. Neither Rockstar nor West Coast Customs has confirmed it. Rockstar has not mentioned the convoy on its Newswire, but between the plates, the liveries and the blimp, there is little doubt whose campaign it is.

Vice City on the beach, in the sky and in Wynwood

The cars are one piece of a campaign that now reaches most of Miami:

• On Miami Beach, Vice City chairs and umbrellas, allowed from October 15 to December 31 under a 4-3 city vote in September worth up to $4 million. Vice reports hundreds of them now on the sand. Our beach chair explainer has the deal.
• Overhead, a Goodyear blimp in Vice City livery, and planes towing banners over South Beach.
• Downtown, up to six large banners approved by the City of Miami, worth up to $1.2 million. Vice also reports branded buses and GTA 6 ads at a Dolphins game at Hard Rock Stadium.
• On the Kaseya Center, the "Welcome to Vice City" sign Rockstar paid $975,000 to put on the arena's roof in September, covered in our Kaseya Center report.
• At Wynwood Walls, ten new murals by artists whose work appears in the game, free admission for Miami-Dade residents with a local ID through 2028, and an Art of Vice City merch line.
• On November 18, the night before launch, the Miami Heat play as Vice City against the Milwaukee Bucks. Our Heat night guide has the details.

Vice also reports that Rockstar is sponsoring a free block party in Little Haiti on November 22.

The county that says it isn't Vice City

Miami-Dade County, which owns the Kaseya Center, is where the pushback is loudest. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava's office signed the rooftop sign deal at $975,000, which was $25,000 under the $1 million threshold that would have required a commission vote. A county pitch deck from June 29, reported by Fortune, floated far more: a "Vice City Airport" arrival experience at Miami International Airport, Metromover cars wrapped in Vice City branding, a PortMiami mural, custom manhole covers downtown and in Brickell, and a car-culture festival at Tropical Park.

Opposition started in September. Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez issued a joint statement urging the county not to use public resources to promote a game built around crime, ending on a line that Fortune later used as its headline: "Miami-Dade County is not Vice City."

At the commission's October 6 meeting, Commissioner René Garcia led the objections, saying he was uncomfortable with a deal that casts Miami as a crime haven, according to The Miamian. Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins pointed to county policy against advertising that promotes violence, and Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez suggested the sign had been priced to dodge a vote. Garcia also argued the county was underselling itself, noting Rockstar is spending at least $150 million on marketing. A late move by Chairman Anthony Rodriguez to let the mayor negotiate a deal worth more than $1 million nearly turned into a vote to end the talks altogether, before Commissioner Oliver Gilbert used a procedural move to push the decision to today.

The mayor's office says nothing beyond the sign has been formally agreed, that the county sees revenue in it, and that the sign's price, about $139,000 a month, was set by comparable deals.

What today's vote decides

The question in front of the commission is whether the mayor's team can keep negotiating with Rockstar. Any deal above $1 million would still have to come back to the board for approval. If commissioners shut the talks down, the airport, port and Metromover ideas go with them; the sign, already up and paid for, stays. The result was not in when we published, and we will update this story when it is.

What it means for GTA 6 players

Nothing in the game changes either way: GTA 6 launches on November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. If you live in or are visiting Miami, the free Wynwood entry for residents, the chairs on Miami Beach and the Heat's Vice City night are the parts you can actually see. Keep an eye out on Key Biscayne, too. A police Lamborghini is hard to miss.

FAQ

Are there real GTA 6 cars in Miami?

Yes. On October 15 and 16, a convoy of six to eight real cars dressed as GTA 6 vehicles, with Leonida plates, was filmed around Miami and Key Biscayne, including a police-liveried Lamborghini Huracán. Rockstar has not officially commented.

Who built the real-life GTA 6 cars?

Several reports credit West Coast Customs, which built a real Bravado Banshee for Rockstar in 2013. Neither company has confirmed it.

Is Miami International Airport becoming Vice City?

Not yet. A county pitch floated a Vice City arrival experience at the airport, but nothing beyond the Kaseya Center sign has been agreed. The county commission votes on October 20 on whether talks with Rockstar can continue.

How much is Rockstar paying Miami?

$975,000 to Miami-Dade for the Kaseya Center sign, up to $4 million to Miami Beach for beach chairs and umbrellas, and up to $1.2 million to the City of Miami for banners, according to reporting by Fortune and The Miamian.

Sources

• Fortune - 'Miami-Dade County is not Vice City': GTA 6 is taking over Miami, and dividing the county
• The Miamian - Miami-Dade Vice City campaign in peril
• VICE - GTA 6 Marketing Is Turning Miami Into Vice City Before Launch
• GTA BOOM - Real GTA 6 Cars Are Driving Around Miami, Police Lamborghini and All
• Insider Gaming - Real-Life GTA 6 Cars Spotted in Miami