A video of a car, driven backward for several miles through heavy traffic on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, a major Los Angeles thoroughfare, has surfaced and has prompted a police investigation.

LAPD detectives are looking into who was driving the brand new Audi, with no licence plate, in reverse down the curving mountain road that connects greater LA with the San Fernando Valley.

Theres no driver identification. We are aware of the situation, said Los Angeles police officer Drake Madison. Its (the investigation) going to be on whats on the tape.

Mobile phone footage from about 4.45pm Thursday (July 9) shows an Audi starting on Mulholland Drive, then driving backwards for more than two miles south down Laurel Canyon Boulevard toward Sunset Boulevard. At one point the car appears almost to hit a pedestrian.

Kevin Zanazanian recorded the video on his mobile phone, and told local TV stations that there were two people in the car – a man behind the wheel and a woman in the passenger seat.

Since the Audi had dealer plates, police plan to contact the dealership to track down the driver.