50 Cent Reveals What Car Nearly Had Him Killed, Admits He Still Has Bulletproof Whips

G-Unit leader 50 Cent appears in an upcoming issue of Forbes Life where he discusses his fascination with vehicles and why he still needs to have protection when driving around.

According to Fif, he ran into a few near-death situations prior to getting shot multiple times in 2000 beginning first with a charcoal gray Toyota Land Cruiser in 1994.

A few months later, Jackson was driving his car through a rough neighborhood when a stranger pulled up next to him, flashed a menacing look and asked, “Yo, where Black at?” “Black” was the street name of a notorious-and violent-gangster. Jackson quickly put it all together: Black had a similar-looking car. Jackson shrugged at his questioner and, luckily for him, the man drove off into the night. The next day, Jackson returned to the dealership. “Why the f**k did you sell [Black] the same color truck as me?” he demanded. “I almost got killed last night.” He traded in the Land Cruiser for a white Mercedes-Benz 400 SEL with bulletproof windows and a 6.0 liter V-12 engine. But the second car turned out to be no better than the first. The Mercedes was conspicuous, an easy target for thieves. A pair of armed robbers ambushed him outside his grandmother’s house in Queens. Jackson barely escaped through a back alley and soon sold the vehicle. (Forbes Life)

Despite all the platinum album sales and success, Fif still feels a need to apply a street mentatlity to the cars he owns.

One thing that has remained important to Jackson is the cars. He owns two bulletproof Chevrolet Suburbans that feature bombproof undercarriages. The $200,000 vehicles were built for the Iraq war. He bought a Lamborghini Murcielago to celebrate the launch of his second album. The $300,000 car was painted charcoal gray, just like his ill-fated Land Cruiser. Perhaps to erase the ghosts of his youth-and satisfy the urge he had with his Rolls-Jackson decked the Lamborghini out in an all-chrome finish. (Forbes Life)

Last year, the G-Unit head credited having a bulletproof truck for saving his life from a potentially life-ending road wreck.

“We spun off into the rail. We would’ve flipped if it was a regular truck, but the truck weighs over a ton because it has additional stuff in it,” 50 Cent told MTV News on Friday (June 29) in an exclusive interview. “We were just riding down the LIE and a Mack Truck — he said he lost control of the vehicle later to police officers because his load shifted,” 50 explained. “He tried to brake, his load shifted, and he lost control and he ran into the back of the truck. It did more damage to the Mack Truck than it did to my truck, ’cause I got a level six; it’s a bulletproof vehicle. It’s the same standard as what they’re moving Obama around in.” (MTV)

In April 2012, Fif appeared in a vehicle-based series called “Dream Machines” on the SyFy network.

The rapper-actor will appear in the April 10 premiere of Syfy’s new reality series “Dream Machines,” The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively. “Dream Machines” revolves around Florida-based brothers Marc and Shanon Parker, owners of Parker Brothers concepts, and their crew as they take vehicles seen in film, TV and comic books and turn them into realities. Each hourlong focuses on a high-profile client or organization commissioning the company to create a one-of-a-kind “dream machine.” (The Hollywood Reporter)