Where there's a wheel, there's a way?

A car thief made two daring attempts to escape with a RM963,000 ($425,000) Porsche.

No roadside hijacks or public carpark hotwiring for him.

Instead, he simply drove off with the car, to the disbelief of the Porsche showroom staff.

Then, when the car was eventually recovered, he stole it again - from under the noses of the Malaysian police.

The first theft took place on Monday at the showroom in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

WELL-DRESSED

The car thief walked in at about 1.50pm.

Dressed in a suit, with cheque book in hand, he asked to view the Porsche 911 Targa 4.

A salesgirl, who declined to be named, told The Star: "He then asked for the keys to start the engine. Before I knew it, he drove the car through the glass pane and sped off."

The brazen thief then made his getaway Hollywood-style, amid a hail of shattered glass.

But, a few minutes later, he had to give up his valuable prize.

The Porsche ran out of fuel a mere 2km away from the showroom.

He was forced to abandon it at Hujung Perusahaan Dua in Prai.

The police found the car 30 minutes later.

It already had fake licence plates fixed on it.

The vehicle was then towed to the station.

But it did not stay there for long.

STOLEN AGAIN

At about 9.30pm the same day, the car went missing again.

It had been driven out of the police station's carpark.

It is believed that the thief had held on to the Porsche keys.

That's how he managed to get away with the car a second time, reported China Press.

When the car was discovered missing, patrol cars were dispatched to search for it.

But the thief gave the police the slip again.

For reasons unknown, he abandoned the car in the middle of an oil plantation about 20km from the station.

The once brand-new car was found badly damaged later that night.

It was smashed and dented in various spots.

The fuel tank was empty - again.

The police believe that the driver must have managed to refuel in order to get so far away this time around.

They have questioned the staff at several petrol stations in the vicinity to try and get a lead on the thief's whereabouts.

The police are also asking the public for more information, and have released a composite photo of the thief, whom they say is in his 20s.

They believe the man was planning to smuggle the car overseas.