Influencer Ali Sobh’s stolen McLaren turned up with an audience. After the lime-green supercar vanished from his Detroit home, he spotted it in footage from a street takeover, where someone was putting it through a very public workout.
The car was a McLaren 750S Spider valued at about $500,000. According to FOX 2 Detroit, it was taken Friday, Nov. 6, then appeared at the takeover the next night.
A driveway theft had become a public performance, complete with people filming. Sobh had lost possession of his car, but he could still watch someone use it.
That attention would help bring the McLaren home. Sobh supplied a possible location to Detroit Police, and FOX 2 reports that officers recovered the car and returned it to him.
An Unwanted Cameo
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The footage spread through Instagram account timmyfilmedit__, which posted videos of the green McLaren on Sunday, Nov. 8. Sobh recognized the car taken from the driveway behind his home, a theft detail FOX 2 credits to The Metro Detroit News.
In an interview with ClickOnDetroit, Sobh responded: “Being paraded around, it’s like nobody can do nothing to us.” He shared the footage with a plea for information and offered a “nice reward” for a tip that led to the car.
Tips pointed to the area of Six Mile Road and Telegraph Road. Sobh passed that location to police, MotorBiscuit reported, and officers found the McLaren there.
His Turn Now
In a follow-up Instagram post, Sobh announced that he had the McLaren again. He claimed that after the McLaren was stolen, the thief tried to get money from the influencer to return the supercar.
In the comments, many people wondered whether the whole thing was staged and Sobh had set up the car theft himself, possibly for views. “Plot twist: He was the person who took it to the takeover, wore a mask and gloves so nobody knew, then staged a video and told the police someone stole it,” someone said.
Either way, Sobh thanked the people who had spread the videos across social media. He now plans to add more security at home after the theft.
FOX 2’s Nov. 11 report credits Detroit Police with recovering the McLaren after Sobh’s tip. Police were still working to identify and locate those responsible.