$230,000 Audi R8 stolen at gunpoint during a test drive turns up abandoned in a Sydney street (almost) without a scratch – despite thief ramming through a police roadblock to escape

A $230,000 sports car that was stolen at gunpoint during a test drive before the thief rammed through a police roadblock has been found.

Police recovered the Audi R8 in Auburn in Sydney’s west on Thursday.

Investigations are continuing by officers from the State Crime Command’s Robbery & Serious Crime Squad and no further information is available, NSW Police said.

Pictures show the car has not been significantly damaged since the theft, although there is some damage to the front passenger side.

The luxury car was stolen on the Northern Beaches on Wednesday evening and the thief escaped from pursuing officers.

A dramatic video showed the white Audi R8 slowing as its driver tries to negotiate its way around an unmarked police car that was blocking its getaway.

An officer runs towards the luxury car and attempts to wrench the driver’s door open, only for the vehicle to accelerate and smash its way past the parked police car.

The ‘ibis white’ Audi was stolen at gunpoint during a test drive in Sydney on Wednesday evening, police say, before the thief escaped from pursuing officers.

The 30-year-old owner of the luxury vehicle, which is still missing, met with a potential buyer outside a service station at Balgowlah at 6pm on Wednesday for a test drive.

The passenger allegedly threatened the owner with a gun after the pair got in the car, police said.

The passenger hit the owner with the gun and forced them out of the car, before driving off, police said.

The owner suffered a cut to his left eye during the altercation.

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Police engaged in several pursuits of the vehicle across Sydney but had to call off the chase several times because of collisions and the ramming of a police car.

Motorist Beau Driessen told the Sydney Morning Herald that the Audi almost crashed into him by the Spit Bridge, near Balgowlah.

‘Once across the Spit Bridge, he then sped off, and then a few minutes later I saw a highway police car attempt to pull over the Audi,’ he said.

‘From here on while driving into the city I saw lots of police cars patrolling the area from Mosman to the city.’

Mr Driessen has passed dashcam footage he took of the car to the police.

The Audi was seen driving through the Harbour and Lane Cove tunnels before heading onto the M2 motorway.

It was last seen near Beecroft in Sydney’s north west, police said.

The man who stole the car is described as being of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance with a thin build, possibly aged in his early 20s, police said.

His hair is shaved at the sides and is long on top.

He was wearing a long, black leather jacket, black shirt and pants and white sneakers. The man was armed with a handgun.

Police have urged the thief to turn himself in, saying they are ‘reasonably confident’ they know who he is.

The armed thief is ‘not going to get away with it’, Superintendent David Darcy warned on Thursday.

Police previously urged the public to contact authorities if they see a white Audi with NSW registration DCL86X, but not to approach the driver.

The 2014 model had done about 25,000km before it was taken.
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Article By: Ollie Gillman and Peter Devlin For Daily Mail Australia