Sometimes, you encounter a criminal that straddles the line between genius and idiot.

In this case, ‘idiot’ won out.

Police in Germany are on the hunt for a man who stole a rare Ferrari worth more than €2 million during a test drive.

I’ve always wondered what would happen if you just kept driving once you left the car dealership…

Here’s CNN with the answer:

The suspect, who contacted a vintage car dealer claiming to be a prospective customer, had expressed interest in buying the 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO and negotiated a test drive with the seller, Düsseldorf police said in a statement.

When the seller got out of the vehicle on Monday to swap drivers, the prospective buyer accelerated and drove off.

The historic car was first registered in 1985. The Ferrari 288 GTO is a limited edition, rare variant of a production Ferrari car, the 308 GTB.

Just 272 were produced between 1984 and 1987 to obtain homologation to compete in the nascent Group B Circuit Race, a road racing version of the popular Group B Rally circuit.

The series was canceled before it even started, but the 288 GTO is now one of the most sought after Ferraris from the 1980s.

The stolen car also once belonged to former Formula 1 driver Eddie Irvine.

It was eventually found hidden in a garage in the town of Grevenbroich, about 18 miles southwest of Düsseldorf, on Tuesday evening, but police are still hunting for the suspect.

Here’s where the ‘idiot’ part comes in:

Haynes said: ‘It is not a very sensible car to steal because it is a very difficult car to sell. It is like a famous painting — most people would find it quite easy to identify, and it would be very difficult to sell.”

In other words, unless the thief intends to keep the car for his own viewing pleasure, it’s pretty much worthless.

There are also easier ways to get your hands on a beautiful vintage car without going through the trouble of being hunted by the police.

LAUDE, purveyors of premium sports, classic and investment cars, have a range of beautiful machines at affordable prices.

If you don’t have a few million Euros to spend, you could still drive off in a classic car like the Jaguar E-Type:

At just R1 650 000, it’s a steal.

The legal, smart kind.

Visit the LAUDE website for more beautiful cars.

[source:cnn]