Photo: The 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO is one of only 252 vehicles to date, estimated to be worth more than $3 million.
Police in the German city of Düsseldorf are pursuing a car thief who stole a rare Ferrari worth more than $3 million during a test drive.
A potential buyer had a two-hour test drive with a salesperson
The moment the salesman left the test drive, the thief slammed on the accelerator and ran
The rare car was later found in a garage 25 kilometers away, but the driver remained at large
Police in Düsseldorf said the theft occurred on Monday afternoon when a man posing as a potential buyer of the 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO and a salesperson from a foreign car dealer had a two-hour test drive in the city.
After the test drive of the car, the suspect waited for the salesperson to get out of the passenger seat, then slammed on the accelerator and sped away along a main road, causing the salesman to get into trouble.
This particular Ferrari 288 GTO car, with a speed of 43,000 km/h and a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with nearly 400 horsepower, was once owned by former Ferrari F1 driver Eddie Irvine.
Photo: Powered by a 2.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine with a power of 400 hp and a top speed of more than 300 km/h.
Police conducted a multi-agency search of the vehicle and called on witnesses to come out and testify if they saw the vehicle — only 252 of which have been built so far.
Fortunately, the Ferrari was found late Tuesday afternoon and found hidden in a garage in the town of Grievín Brovich, about 25 kilometers southwest of Düsseldorf.
It was returned to its owner intact.
Police in Düsseldorf told ABC that the suspect spoke Spanish, was not fluent in English, was between the ages of 45 and 55 and was burly and about 176 centimeters tall.