BMW police car chase a viral hit

The high-speed pursuit resulted in a YouTube sensation and a huge PR boost for the German manufacturer, according to the owner of the stolen vehicles.

Kirsty Calabro of Westlake, Brisbane, yesterday thanked her dealership for their support in the aftermath of the brazen theft. "The TV footage of the police chase has now had more than 50,000 hits on YouTube," she said.

"It was a pretty good ad for BMW because it showed the capability of the car. "I've since had six people say to me they will get an X5 because they saw the TV footage. "The police cars didn't stand a chance. They couldn't even stop it with stingers because it has run-flat tyres.

That car is indestructible. It's a tank. We will be BMW owners forever." The ordeal began for the Calabros on the morning of Easter Monday when the police knocked on their door and told them their X5 had been stolen.

The house had been burgled and the keys to the Mrs Calabro's 2011 X5 3.0d and husband Tony's 2005 Z4 2.5i were among items taken. The police chased the cars on several occasions throughout the day, with a two-hour high-speed pursuit late in the day followed by TV helicopters.

Seven people were arrested by police after the chase. Mrs Calabro said she emailed Westside BMW aftersales manager Anthony Alafaci the next morning and was immediately offered their service car.

"Little did I know that they already knew it was our car because they checked the rego from the photo in The Courier-Mail," she said. "They said we could have their loan car for as long as we wanted, but you just don't know how long insurance companies take."

The Calabros used the dealership's loan car for three weeks while the business manager, Donna McCenor, assisted them with their insurance claim. Mrs Calabro was so impressed with the service, she presented several of the staff with flowers and plaques to thank them.

BMW Australia managing director Phil Horton flew from Melbourne especially for the presentation. "This is the first time we've ever seen a customer give an award to a dealership," Mr Horton said.

"Westside BMW is already number two in Australia for customer satisfaction and have been consistently high in our awards." Mrs Calabro says the ordeal has been difficult for the family which only moved back into their house seven weeks ago after damage from the 2011 floods had been repaired.

"We're not rich bitches or anything. We're still paying off those cars that have been written off by the insurance companies," she said. "I'm now driving a friend's old car until the insurance is sorted out. "But I'll definitely be buying another X5. It's such a safe car for a young family."