Toronto man says his carjacked Ferrari was found by car enthusiasts, not police

A Toronto man says he has the local car community to thank for recovering his Ferrari after it was allegedly stolen at knifepoint.

The carjacking took place in Forest Hill near Upper Canada College at around 11:45 p.m. on Sept. 29, when the victim claimed two men — one armed with a knife — demanded the keys to the car.

“One guy jumped out of the passenger side with a knife pointed at me and demanded the key,” the man, whom Global News has agreed not to identify due to the recent trauma of the incident, said.

The victim said he believed the carjackers had followed his car from a restaurant in the Yorkville area before engaging him in Forest Hill.

He said the man carrying a knife repeatedly demanded he hand over his keys, which were in the possession of his brother. Eventually, his brother threw the keys into the middle of the road and the two carjackers drove off, he said.

Initially, the victim and his brother were able to track the car using his phone until the carjackers threw it out of the vehicle on Rosedale Valley Road, he said.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Toronto police said a total of 182 carjackings have been reported in the city this year to date. By contrast, in 2021, a total of 102 carjackings were reported to police

However, the victim said it was car enthusiasts and not the police who helped track down his stolen vehicle.

Samantha Tan, a pro racing driver with a sizeable social media following, issued a plea to locate the car on Friday, Sept. 30.

“If you’re in the Toronto area, our F12 TDF was just carjacked, the suspect is armed, please do not approach or engage,” Tan wrote in an Instagram post shared with her 103,000 followers.

The victim said the message going viral, with more than 10,000 likes, along with the unique colour of the orange Ferrari, forced the carjackers to abandon it in a disabled parking space on Logan Avenue,.

“The car spotters and car community came together and found the car, not the police,” the victim said.

Toronto police confirmed to Global News that an investigation into the incident was ongoing. No arrests have been made.