A resident of the city of Riverton in Utah became the victim of a car theft last week, when her 1927 Pierce-Arrow Roadster was taken from a barn owned by her family.

The classic car was purchased by Jeanette Hoops' father in the early 1960s for a sum of $3400. In the interim, the value of the car has increased and the family had hoped to auction it off at some point, with price estimates topping $75,000.

The car itself has a burgundy paint job and given its age and rarity, is not difficult to identify, so police are hopeful that it will be recovered through the vigilance of the public.

Perhaps most important is the fact that the car itself was not in working order, so could not have been driven away from the barn, according to WPXI.

The criminals therefore must have had to load it onto the back of some kind of truck or trailer, which could leave it exposed during transit.

The car was created by a company that went bust during the Great Depression, but prior to its closure Pierce-Arrow gained a good reputation for its US-made vehicles.