Porsche stolen in 1986 found on container ship headed to the Netherlands

After a man's red Porsche was stolen in Las Vegas in 1986, he had given up on finding the sports car, claimed the insurance money, and moved on with his life.

The man, Peter O'Toole, received quite the blast from the past when he found out that the car was found on a container ship in California bound for the Netherlands.

Now living in Oregon where he owns a construction company, Mr O'Toole hadn't thought much about his red sports car of yesteryear since he claimed the insurance money for the used car he bought from a German man for $17,000.

Quite the ride: This 1976 Porsche was stolen in Las Vegas in 1986 and found in October aboard a container ship leaving Los Angeles headed for the Netherlands

'I wasn't even a sports car guy, but I loved that car,' he told AOL Autos. 'I was a cool dad in that car.'

When he bought the car, Mr O'Toole was living in Las Vegas, working as a pit boss at the Barbary Coast casino. The car was stolen the evening of November 24, 1986 as Mr O'Toole went in for a workout at his local gym.

Fast forward a quarter of a century, and shipyard officials realized the car was one of 24 stolen cars on the same ship.

Given inflation and the increased value that comes with the age of the car, Mr O'Toole's former ride is now worth $27,000.

Raking up the miles: Since it was stolen in Las Vegas, the car has covered much of the United States in the past 25 years

The container held a total of 100 cars with varying issues: 24 were stolen like Mr O'Toole's, 63 were undeclared, seven had lower valuations than necessary and six had false documentation.

The total value of the questionable cars on board rings in at roughly $1.8million.

While it may look the same on the outside, the Porsche that Mr O'Toole used to call his own has changed over the years.

Since it was stolen, it has been registered in  Florida, Washington, and New Jersey.

(Also, when found on the boat, it was missing it's engine. If found with the engine, the collector's car would have been worth over $80,000, but it is thought that a new engine could be installed in Europe to allow for higher driving speeds.)

Though the car was found in the Los Angeles Long Beach ship yard on October 25, Mr O'Toole had not been notified of it's discovery until a reporter from AOL Autos rang him for the story.

'Really?' Mr O'Toole said when hearing of the find.

'I'm going to go look this up,' he said


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2062976/Porsche-stolen-1986-container-ship-headed-Netherlands.html#ixzz1e44c8wiY


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