When a car is stolen, the thief might take it for a joyride, ship it overseas, or deliver it to a chop shop. Stealing a car and holding it for ransom is considerably less common. And stealing a $460,000 race car before then demanding money for its return? That's a whole different level of unusual. But that's exactly the bizarre situation that apparently recently unfolded in London. According to a BBC report, a British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) Audi was stolen, then someone allegedly contacted the racing team's principal over FaceTime, showed him the stolen car, and attempted to negotiate a ransom for its return.
BTCC team Power Maxed Racing owns the car. On Thursday, the team posted on social media that their racing Audi had been stolen the night before. The car was inside a trailer, and it was parked at the Excel London exhibition center. The lot where it was parked was locked and had on-site security, but apparently that was not enough to keep the brazen thieves at bay.
Power Maxed Racing offered a £25,000 (roughly $33,000) cash reward for the return of the purpose-built racer. However, the story soon took another strange turn. According to the BBC, Power Maxed Racing team principal Adam Weaver got a call "with somebody FaceTiming me showing me the car trying to get the ransom." Weaver reportedly told the person that he needed some time to organize the cash and sleep on the prospect of paying a ransom for the safe return of the car.
Weaver received a much more encouraging call later the same day: the police had found the car and trailer. Both were still in London, and only about 10 minutes away from where they were stolen. Power Maxed Racing went back on social media to share the good news, and to thank everyone who helped spread the word and get the car and trailer back.
In the end, the alleged thieves apparently went through the trouble of breaking into a secure compound and stealing a $460,000 race car, only to have it recovered just down the road. It's unclear whether anyone has been arrested, or if there was any damage to the car or trailer. Fortunately, Power Maxed Racing has its Audi back, and that's what matters most.
