Franklin and Lamar

Updated 2 November 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Franklin and Lamar is the second story mission of Grand Theft Auto V (2013) and the first set in present-day Los Santos. Working for the car dealer Simeon Yetarian, Franklin Clinton and Lamar Davis take two convertibles from a beach house and race them across the city. It unlocks Franklin as a playable character, and its closing scene became a well-known meme.

What is the Franklin and Lamar mission?

Franklin and Lamar follows the Prologue in Grand Theft Auto V. The story jumps nine years ahead to Los Santos and introduces Franklin Clinton and his friend Lamar Davis, who repossess cars for the Armenian dealer Simeon Yetarian. It is the first of Simeon's jobs on our GTA V missions list.

How does it start?

The opening scene belongs to Michael De Santa, now living under a new name and venting at his therapist, Dr Friedlander. Sitting on a bench above Del Perro beach afterwards, he is asked for directions by Franklin and Lamar and grudgingly points them to the house they are looking for. It is the first time the two future partners meet.

What happens in the mission?

At the beach house Franklin chooses between two convertibles (the 9F Cabrio and the Rapid GT) and Lamar takes the other. The pair then race through the city, trading insults about work, money and the crack-using tow driver JB. The race ends at the Union Depository car park. Police sirens split them up, and once Franklin has shaken a two-star wanted level he meets Lamar behind Simeon's dealership, Premium Deluxe Motorsport.

There they watch Simeon put on a show of outrage at a young customer, Jimmy De Santa, as a way of pushing him into buying an SUV. Lamar sees through it at once. Franklin then drives home to his aunt Denise's house, and the game hands over its basic controls.

Why is the ending of Franklin and Lamar a meme?

Outside Franklin's house, Lamar teases him about his haircut and his love life before driving away. Gta.wiki records that this exchange turned into a widely shared meme from around 2020 onwards, and that the two voice actors, Shawn Fonteno and Slink Johnson, acted the scene again in 2021. A similar roast was written into the GTA Online Contract update the same year.

What do you get for completing it?

These details come from gta.wiki, which also likens the mission to the San Andreas job Test Drive, where CJ and Cesar steal two sports cars. The next mission, Repossession, continues the Simeon strand and leads to Complications.