An oil industry company owner clocked at 110mph on the A90 said he was fleeing for his life from a gang intent on taking his flashy sports car.
Robert Slorance was chased by police after they spotted him speeding near Longforgan but pulled into a layby on the outskirts of Dundee.
He told police he had been boxed in by two other vehicles in what he believed was a bid to take his 3.2 litre Audi A3 but had managed to accelerate away.
However, Sheriff Fiona Tait told the 46-year-old she did not find his version of events to be credible and banned him from the roads.
Slorance, who is self-employed as a hydrographic surveyor, told Perth Sheriff Court that he had stopped off at a branch of McDonald’s in Perth while travelling home from Stirling and a stranger at the fast food restaurant had complimented him on his car and said he “hoped to get one soon”.
Minutes later, two dark cars with blackened windows attempted to bring him to a stop on the A90 by driving in front and beside him while slowing to 25mph, he said.
However, the two police officers who recorded Slorance’s speed had no recollection of seeing cars matching the description he gave.
Slorance told the court: “The one thing that went through my mind was are they trying to force me off the road?
“There’s at least five people (in the cars) and there’s no way I can stop them taking what they want. If they forced me off the road then I’m in trouble.
“I thought my life was in danger.”
Depute fiscal Stuart Richardson said: “The Crown’s position is that the acknowledged speed is grossly excessive and nothing Mr Slorance has told us is sufficient to excuse him travelling so fast.”
Solicitor Nick Markowski, defending, said Slorance drove around 50,000 miles a year in operating his business, which would be affected were he to lose his licence.
Slorance, of South Esk Street, Montrose, was found guilty of driving at 110mph on the A90 at Longforgan on April 24 2013.
Sheriff Tait disqualified him from driving for six months and fined him £500.