Tech-Savvy Thieves Switch Keys During Test Drive to Steal Porsche

Guenter Schiffmann / Bloomberg / Getty Images A Porsche Panamera similar to the one stolen sits on display outside a Porsche dealership in Stuttgart, Germany.

The cast of Gone in 60 Seconds would be proud. No forced entry, no threats; just a devious plan that netted two thieves a $148,000 Porsche.

As the story goes, two men in their 20s showed up to Princeton Porsche in Lawrence, N.J. Monday to test-drive the Porsche Panamera. They claimed one had just won a nice chunk of change in a legal settlement and was looking for a new set of wheels.

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After the spin around central New Jersey, the men took off. And the next day, so did the Panamera they had driven earlier. Police think that the thieves handed the dealer a fake key after the test drive. “It looks like they may have done a switcheroo on the keys of the car,” Lawrence Police Lt. Charles Edgar said.

The dealer, who accompanied the men during the test drive, noticed the car was missing upon opening shop the next morning. How could this have happened to such an expensive car with such a (presumably) expensive security system? Simple: the car features a keyless ignition system, with no physical key. An electronic key sits in the driver’s pocket allowing one-touch access to opening the doors and turning the car on. Sounds like a fast pass for a simple switcheroo for these techy thieves.

Nick Carbone is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @nickcarbone. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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Land Rover Defender named top target for car thieves

London, Nov 24 (ANI)

A theft index shows that high end cars like Land Rovers, Audis and BMWs are more likely to be targeted by thieves than ordinary family saloons, despite having state-of-the-art security.

Nine of the top 10 targets were upmarket marques, with the Renault Laguna the only standard model to make it into the chart, the Mirror reported.

The bestselling Ford Focus came in 46th, while the popular Volkswagen Golf was ranked 24th.

Insurance firm Swiftcover's index gives cars a rating using the number of thefts in proportion to the number of those vehicles on the road.

The average sale price among the top 10 most stolen cars is 37,815 pounds.

The most valuable on the list is the Range Rover, which starts at 69,995 pounds.

Swiftcover's chief claims officer Robin Reames said: "Given that luxury vehicles are usually alarmed, well protected and parked in affluent neighbourhoods, it's surprising that they're still so likely to be targeted."

The top 10 most stolen cars are:

Land Rover Defender
BMW 7 Series
Audi A5
BMW X5
Mercedes ML
Range Rover
Audi TT
BMW Z4
Audi A3
Renault Laguna

--ANI

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