A man says he tracked down his stolen McLaren—and found it being hauled down the highway on the back of a truck. Now people have questions about whether the McLaren was actually stolen.
CJ Venuto (@cjvenuto) says his McLaren was stolen, but he located it using the car’s tracking system. His video shows the McLaren on the back of a truck as Venuto follows on the highway.
“They stole it,” the text overlay read.
“We tracked it,” he added.
The clip ends there, but Venturo suggests he got his car back.
“Stolen McLaren recovered by trackers,” Venuto wrote in the post's caption.
The short clip doesn’t provide much detail about how the McLaren was taken, who was driving the truck, or what happened after Venuto located it. As of this writing, his video has more than 93,300 views.
How Do Vehicle Trackers Actually Work?
Tracking a stolen car in real time can make for a dramatic video, but the technology itself is pretty straightforward.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), several tools can help protect your car from theft: an audible device—like an alarm—or an immobilizer that prevents thieves from hotwiring your car.
Other systems use electronic transmission technology to help locate a vehicle. This can include factory-installed telematics or an aftermarket GPS tracker. NHTSA specifically recommends considering a GPS tracking device if a vehicle doesn’t already have one.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau says some tracking systems combine GPS and wireless technology to monitor a vehicle remotely. If it moves, the system alerts the owner and allows them to track its location.
That appears consistent with what Venuto shows in his clip: He says the McLaren was stolen, then later records it on the back of a truck after tracking it down.
The video doesn’t identify which tracking system he used, so it’s not possible to tell whether the location was pinpointed by a factory McLaren feature or an after-market device.
It’s also important to note that finding the car isn’t the same as recovering it.
NHTSA advises theft victims to contact police immediately and file a stolen vehicle report. Owners should have their license plate, make, model, color, and VIN available, as you will be asked to provide it. If you locate the vehicle before police, the agency says you should contact law enforcement and your insurer rather than trying to recover it yourself.
Gallery: McLaren W1 Review
Viewers Suggest The McLaren Was Repossessed
Many viewers weren’t convinced Venuto’s McLaren had actually been stolen.
“Stolen or repo?” one person asked.
Venuto replied: “Repo patriots don’t cover the spread anymore.”
Another commenter was more direct.
“Repo. They broke,” they quipped.
“100% repo,” someone else wrote.
“Haha that’s repo man right there,” another added.
One viewer asked the same question a little more plainly: “Stolen or repoed?”
With the information available, there’s no way to know how the McLaren ended up on the back of the flatbed, or why.
Not everyone agreed. One commenter who identified themselves as someone who regularly tows luxury cars said the flatbed itself didn’t necessarily mean the McLaren was being repossessed.
“Bro. I tow things like this on the normal. We call ‘em screamers. Beamers. Ben. And other luxury brands’ alarm goes off when vibration or bump on the road. Not a repo with a flatbed,” they said.
Other viewers were less interested in how the McLaren ended up on the truck and more interested in the car’s condition.
“Looks like someone tried to take them rims off,” one person wrote.
Motor1 contacted Venuto via TikTok direct message. We’ll be sure to update this if he responds.
