Group of thieves target muscle car in Studio City heist caught on video

STUDIO CITY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Perplexed thieves broke into a Studio City garage, trying to steal a coveted muscle car, but then spent the next hour trying to get it out. It was all caught on camera.

The owner of the 2017 Dodge Charger Daytona 392 says the cars have a 60% higher theft rate. Still, he says the neighborhood he lives in is safe, and he never thought this would happen to him.

"I got the phone call at 6 a.m. in the morning by the manager who manages it, 'Your car got stolen,'" said Stephan Wendel, the owner of the muscle car.

Video shows the thieves stealing the Dodge Charger Daytona from the shared garage of his Studio City apartment building, where he's lived for almost 20 years.

"It's amazing how they got the car started," Wendel said. "I have my keys, right? I have two of my keys. Here's the keys, one of my keys. I have another key here, so I don't know how they did it."

It's also unclear how the suspects gained access to the building's garage in the first place. They got in around 4:30 on Tuesday morning.

But getting in proved easier than getting out.

"We do not have clickers. We have an access code, so they had the car ready, but they couldn't leave. They were searching my vehicle, the trunk, everything, for a clicker to try to open the gate, but they couldn't," Wendel said.

After more than an hour, a neighbor in the building returned home from the gym. Out on the street, video shows a white car pull up, two people quickly walk into the garage, and within seconds, you see Wendel's Charger Daytona pull out of the garage.

But the quick-thinking neighbor was right behind them.

"She gave chase. She followed the guys for a while, from here down to Ventura and up to Tujunga. But then they floored it, and then she lost them," Wendel said.

They didn't get away before the neighbor got pictures of the white Acura and license plate.

Wendel is optimistic, hoping the surveillance images and his neighbor's quick thinking will help find his beloved vehicle.

As an immigrant who came to the U.S. from Germany in 1998, he says he's always loved American cars.

"About 17 to 18,000 cars are stolen in L.A. every year, however, 85% are recovered, so we will see. That would be nice!" Wendel said.

Making matters worse, Wendel said his mother is in town right now, visiting from Germany. This was not the type of excitement she was hoping for on her visit.

Wendel filed a police report with the Los Angeles Police Department's North Hollywood Station, and while he was there, he says two other people were also there, reporting to police that they, too, had vehicles stolen overnight. One of those people owns a car dealership and said they had four vehicles stolen in the overnight hours.

It's unclear if the other vehicle thefts are connected.