Daring Corvette thieves take Pero at his word

This Corvette, which has an interesting past, was recently sold by Mike Pero but later stolen from his driveway. Photo / Supplied

Prince sang about a little red one, but Mike Pero certainly isn't singing about his black one-of-a-kind Corvette that was stolen in broad daylight.

The two-door 2005 Chevrolet Corvette sports coupe worth upward of $60,000 was pinched from Pero's home in the posh Christchurch suburb of Fendalton three weeks after he sold it on Trade Me - writing on the auction site "someone's gonna get a steal here".

Police said the thieves struck between 5pm and 8pm last Tuesday.

The car is registered to Pero, but it appears he sold it through Trade Me on November 10 to an Auckland man for $52,300. He did not list an asking price, and set the reserve at $1.

Pero converted the car from left-hand drive to right-hand drive after purchasing it in 2008.

He did not return calls yesterday and the man who won the auction could not be reached.

However, in the question-and-answer section of the Trade Me auction, he claimed Tom Cruise and Arnold Schwarzenegger were among Hollywood stars to "be seen" in the car before he purchased it.

"I have also heard that Angelina Jolie has sat in this very car while it was in the GM dealership in South Brand Boulevard, LA. There was a G-string under the seat when the car arrived in New Zealand but there are no guarantees, and we cannot get it verified but BP were the initials on these - so either a giveaway from the local gas station or a romantic gift from Brad Pitt. Now that's worth an extra $20K. Final sale price includes G-string," he wrote.

Pero also explained why he was selling the Corvette.

"It's a reluctant sale but I'm not getting the use out of the car it justifies for the capital invested. I drive it about three hours a month, it takes space up in our garage and Rachel (Pero's wife) wants her car in."